


You Should See Me (In A Crown)

by Shiniko1898



Series: A Broken Crown Still Shines [4]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Action, Angst, Canon Divergence, F/M, Humor, OC, OC Really is just sick of people, OC can’t catch a break, SI/OC, especially people who can’t leave her village alone, girl needs a nap, things about to get real wild for OC, world building
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:08:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 20
Words: 31,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27984324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shiniko1898/pseuds/Shiniko1898
Summary: Konoha has managed to push the Fourth Shinobi war back by years and have been making moves to prepare for it, Now they’re out of time and Ishihara Katsumi is more than ready to see it over with
Series: A Broken Crown Still Shines [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1920322
Comments: 370
Kudos: 361





	1. Chapter 1

Katsumi wakes up in the darkness of her bedroom, curled against Yuma’s bare chest and knows instantly something is wrong. Her wind chimes are silent. Immediately, her hearing increases as much as it can and she moves slowly to grab the Kunai she keeps hidden behind the headboard of the bed. The arm Yuma had under her curls around her and as she wraps a hand around her Kunai, his finger taps out the code for _threat_ on her waist. Katsumi can’t hear any other heart beats in the house, but the wind chimes don’t stop unless there’s a threat nearby. 

She moves slowly and quietly out of the bed, Yuma following. She’s lucky she slept in shorts and a shirt tonight, instead of naked like she normally does after sex with Yuma. It’d be awkward to deal with a problem naked. 

Yuma has one of his own Kunai in hand and the pair keep low to the ground as they check the house, keeping out of sight of the windows. There’s no one in the house but them. Which means the threat is outside. It’s Yuma that sees them first, he goes deathly still behind her and reflective purple eyes fix on something she can’t see in the darkness. 

Katsumi peels her teeth back as she strains to see what he’s seeing. It’s a new moon and in combination with the shadows of the forest, she can’t make anything out. Even Yuma is probably struggling to see as well as he always does. 

His hand moves to rest on her shoulder and he’s tapping code rapidly with his fingers: _one person, Watching, unknown affiliation, unknown threat level._ Katsumi flares her chakra in the standard ANBU pattern for _reinforcements needed_ and settles down to wait, kunai held tightly in her hand, and Yuma still as stone behind her. 

It takes no time at all for Dog, Cat and Owl to appear on her doorstep. Yuma taps out one set of last code: _Unknown gone._ They move to the door slowly, the grips on their Kunai never relaxing even as the wind chimes begin to make their noise again. 

Owl and Cat are pacing the area looking for the threat as Katsumi and Yuma fill Dog in. Owl’s byakugan doesn’t show anyone and Cat’s ability to use the mokuton to sense things shows nothing as well. It ends up with Katsumi and Yuma having to speak with Inoichi and Ibiki at four in the damn morning. No one is happy with this. 

Inoichi handles Yuma, mindwalking him so he can actually see who the intruder was while Katsumi breaks down to Ibiki what was going on. Ibiki’s expression is severe as she explains how the wind chimes work. That they chime until there’s a threat to anyone in the house, she doesn’t know how it knows there’s a threat, Naruto had never explained the details to her, she wouldn’t have understood the more technical aspects of it anyway. 

They trade off when Inoichi is done with Yuma. She gets mindwalked while Yuma tells Ibiki verbally what happened. The more perspectives the better, she understands. Dog, Cat, and Owl all get the same treatment. In the end, those three are sworn to secrecy on the matter, Yuma is informed he now holds an SS-ranked secret in his head and Katsumi nearly has a sage be damned heart attack when she hears what it was Yuma had been watching. Zetsu. The freaky plant man. What the fuck. This is going t be a shit show. She already knows it. 

Sure enough, Tsunade summons both of them into her office at eight in the morning and they both end up moved to ANBU full time, with the added requirement of spending all day in HQ from now on. Since a plant man decided to stalk Katsumi and Yuma now knows about it. On top of it, Yuma is now her official bodyguard, instead of the unofficial one he apparently was when she first joined ANBU. Katsumi gives him a glare when she hears that bit and he just gives her an apologetic shrug and mouths _orders_ at her. 

Katsumi and Yuma become Fox and Hyena indefinitely and Beetle gives off an air ofresignation when they inform him, no small amount of glee in Hyena’s voice, that he gets to see them all the time now. Beetle’s response to this is to tell them there’s always paperwork he can make them do. They disappear from his sight impressively fast after that. 

Fox drags Hyena into her room and glares through the mask at him, “Unofficial bodyguard?”

“Only until Foxy got good at living,” Hyena sounds entirely unrepentant. 

“You threw me at a target, _literally threw me,”_ She points out. 

“Bodyguard mission came second to that, the exact orders were: ‘don’t let Fox die, but don’t let it interfere with missions.’ Bit complicated, but you’re alive and the missions were completed, and I haven’t been your bodyguard since the Danzo operation,” Hyena waves a hand lazily in the air. 

“And now you’re officially supposed to keep me alive,” Fox doesn’t like it. 

“Sure am. Shouldn’t be too hard, you don’t seem to get along well with the concept of dying,” He sounds entirely unconcerned. 

“And now we’re stuck in HQ,” Fox is most annoyed with that. 

“Not barred from missions though. We won’t be here all the time.” She can hear the grin in Hyena’s voice as he leans against her wall. 

“That’s something,” Fox is only a little mollified by this. 

“And there’s a new crop of potential recruits, bet Scorpion will let us help out with that if we ask nicely,” Hyena adds, a slight giggle in his voice. 

“‘Nicely’, since when do you do nice?” Fox counters, forcing herself to relax. 

“I’m nice to you, aren’t I?” The giggle is gone and his voice drops an octave. 

“I hope you’re not planning to try and sleep with Scorpion,” Fox responded drily. 

“Course not, Panther would kill me, everyone knows those two have been fucking for years,” Hyena’s voice returns to the normal, near giggly tone he favors when he’s in the mask. 

“So what now?”

“Now? I’m going back to sleep, you should too. We’ll find things to do later,” Hyena pushes off the wall and presses his forehead against hers for a moment before slipping out of the room and leaving her alone. 

Fox sighs and falls onto the narrow bed. So Zetsu is in play. That’s not at all good news. Guess that means they’ll need to figure out how to deal with that particular issue soon than expected. She knows everyone involved has been wanted to deal with Obito first, seems priorities may get shifted around a bit if Zetsu is coming into Konoha. At least Obito has been keeping a distance for now. She rolls onto her side and tries to sleep. She’ll need all the rest she can get for the coming days.


	2. Chapter 2

Fox is standing stock still behind Tsunade as the meeting carries on. They need the Uchiha’s Susanoo. The problem is Itachi is going blind, she removed one of Sasuke’s eyes and Sasuke doesn’t even have the mangekyo sharingan. She and Dog are standing together as Tsunade, Itachi, Shikaku, and Inoichi debate what to do. Namely, how to trigger Sasuke’s Mangekyo without actually killing anyone. Tsunade is already working on developing a new eye or something for Sasuke using his body’s cells. Fox has to restrain herself for shifting awkwardly ever time someone mentions the fact that, really, Sasuke needed both eyes. Maybe she should have aimed a bit lower on his face when she struck him. 

“Could you place him under a genjutsu? Make him think he’d caused your death?” Shikaku gives Itachi an irritated look, Itachi has been fairly unhelpful in regards to this whole thing, wanting to spare his brother anymore mental trauma. 

“The mangekyo is activated by extreme guilt, genuine guilt,” Is all Itachi says. 

“Sasuke’s mental state is still fragile, pushing that type of guilt onto him will do even more harm,” Inoichi’s voice is clinical and cold. 

“Will it kill him?” Tsunade’s fingers lace together. 

“No, but it will most likely set him back in his recovery.” If Inoichi is pained by the idea of harming Sasuke’s mental state further, he doesn’t show it. 

“It may be necessary, I need to know it’s possible before I waste anymore time developing a replacement eye for him,” Tsunade’s voice is sharp and unyielding. The kind she uses when she’s done dancing around an issue. 

“Sasuke would also end up with the eternal Mangekyo sharingan as well if we do this,” Itachi warns. 

“We’ll reapply his chakra suppression seals as soon as his mangekyo is activated,” Shikaku rumbles, dark eyes hard and flinty. 

Fox and Dog are as silent as ever, there under the pretense of being Lady Hokage’s guards. Since learning of Uchiha Obito’s continues existence, Dog has been eerily quiet and twice as harsh. It leaves everyone who works with him on shaky ground unless they’re on a mission, where he’s as a good a Taichou as he always is. Fox isn’t sure how wise it is to give Sasuke his eye back, considering he’ll be trading them with Itachi, but if it’s necessary as a contingency plan, so be it. 

“Uchiha, will you be able to do this?”

“I can place a genjutsu, but whether it will be enough to activate his mangekyo is entirely up to Sasuke. This has never been tried before.” Itachi’s face is perfectly blank but Fox has a feeling he’s not pleased at all. 

“The Uchiha clan never considered this method of activating it?” Shikaku drawls. 

“No. If it was attempted, it was never mentioned in the clan histories,” Itachi crosses his legs, the picture of serenity. 

“First time for everything, I suppose,” Tsunade doesn’t sound happy, “I’ll continue work on the replacement eye. When it’s completed, you will attempt to trigger his Mangekyo, Uchiha. Until then, do not use your eyes further, understood?” 

“Yes, Lady Hokage,” Itachi inclines his head. 

“Excellent, Inoichi, continue your work with Uchiha Sasuke. Shikaku, we need to discuss a few things privately. Everyone else dismissed,” Tsunade’s hands with subtly into the sign that means ANBU is included in that statement. Dog and Fox leave without hesitation. 

They go straight to HQ, where Dog immediately goes to bark at the newest crop of potential recruits. Fox wisely stays out of that, let the trainees learn to survive an irritated Dog. She’s done her time with that. Instead, Fox ends up bumming a cigarette off Owl, their masks tilted just enough to let them smoke as they lean on the railing above the main arena and watch Dog run the recruits ragged. She’s been working on quitting the habit, but things have been stressful lately and Owl never says no when she asks, provided she gives him a heads up when Hyena feels like sowing chaos in HQ. Owl likes being able to make himself scare when Hyena gets like that, especially when Beetle isn’t around to prevent it. Lucky Hyuga bastard isn’t stuck in HQ. He can run when Hyena gets bored. 

The Hyuga tips his head back and blows the smoke into the air, “Dog is a bitch lately, You got any idea why?”

Fox knows exactly why, she’s not going to say though, “Nope, I’m as in the dark as everyone else.”

Owl makes a disgruntled noise, “Damn, Cat doesn’t know either. Whatever is up with him, he needs to calm the fuck down, he’s going to give the baby ANBU nervous disorders.”

“Seems like that would make them fit right in,” Fox quips. Not like ANBU operatives don’t come with a host of different issues. 

“Might, or might make them absolutely useless on missions. Not a gamble I’m interested in making,” Owl shakes his head. 

“Fair. I wouldn’t shower on the second floor for the next week if I were you. Unless you want blue skin,” Fox puts the last of her cigarette out on the railing and fixes her mask back in place. 

“Shit, fucking Hyena. Thanks, Try not to end up on Dog’s bad side,” Owl sounds like he might be contemplating giving Hyena a particularly hard time the next time the pair spar. 

Fox flicks her fingers in the hand sign for _affirmative_ as she walks off to find something to do. Spending almost all of her time in HQ gets dull when she’s only getting to go on missions occasionally. Fox isn’t barred from missions, but she’s being kept on standby for a little while longer and only being used sparingly. It’s making her twitchy with boredom.

She slinks through the dark hallways of HQ in search of busywork. Beetle catches her near the second flood and she’s certain he’s glaring at her from behind his mask, “What did you do?”

Fox tilts her head, “Nothing yet. I’m looking for something to do.”

Beetle is silent, like he’s calculating the odds that she’s lying, “Come with me then. I have something for you to do.”

Fox narrows her eyes but obeys. Beetle has taken to having her run errands for him while she’s stuck in HQ and not being productive, as he calls it. Sure enough, she gets the dubious honor of delivering ANBU paperwork to Ibiki. Lots of it. Beetle will only give her one small stack at a time though, to keep her busier for longer. It’s dull and repetitive but it passes the time. She pretends she doesn’t know it’s because Beetle thinks she’ll go get Hyena and cause a minor fire or something for fun if she’s not kept busy. 

When it’s done, Beetle nods once in satisfaction, “Now go find Hyena, Lost and Found wants to borrow you two.”

Rescue and recovery. One of the departments she and Hyena may officially move into after they’re done in spec ops. This is probably their way of seeing if they’re suited for it in real life, rather than just on paper. She nods once in understanding and leaves before Beetle can find a new chore for her. 

It’s nothing to find Hyena, he’s passed out in his little ANBU assigned room. He traded rooms with the operative that had taken Snake’s old room beside Fox’s, easiest way to play bodyguard without moving a spare mattress into her room. Not that he doesn’t end up crashing in her room most nights anyway. The door swings open when she knocks and the grinning painted mask stares down at her, “Foxy! Whatcha need?”

“Lost and Found wants us,” Fox gets to the point. Play later, work now. 

“Ah, some idiot need help? Well it’d be rude to keep them waiting, hm?” Hyena falls into step beside her easily enough as the head towards Lost and Found’s office. The department head is a Kunoichi called Sparrow. The woman is soft spoken and almost sweet, or as sweet as a head of an ANBU department can be. Really, she gives off the feeling of someone fully capable of committing murder with a genuine, friendly smile behind the bird mask. 

She gives them a file they have fifteen minutes to look over before they need to go. An extraction. For Tiger and Rat’s little apprentice, Mouse. The rest of their team is already in body scrolls according to the summons Mouse sent them. Fox sees the urgency, two operatives are being hunted by multiple teams of Iwa nin who caught them on the wrong side of the Land of Earth’s border. There’s no explanation for what they were doing there, Fox supposes it doesn’t matter. Their mission is only to retrieve the living, not complete whatever mission went wrong. Primarily retrieve Mouse, ANBU Medics are worth more than gold. Which is why they’re only dispatched into the field when it’s absolutely necessary and they always have first priority when an extraction has to take place. 

“You’ll be going under the command of my operatives, Horse and Jackal, good hunting,” Sparrow’s voice is soft and sweet and would definitely lull someone into a false sense of security.

“Well, Foxy, lets go meet our new friends,” Hyena falls in guard position to her right as they leave the office. 

Well, she was bored. A trip to Iwa might be more entertainment than she bargained for though. Leave it to Beetle to give them all the entertainment they could possibly want. She can’t tell at this point if he’s being nice or just keeping them out of his hair. She’s pretty sure he’s still annoyed that they’re here constantly now. He’s not the only one, Akiko apparently won’t leave Shikaku alone and he passed on her dissatisfaction for her a few days ago. Apparently the kid isn’t happy with the excuse that she’s gone on a long term mission. Fox will make it up to the kid, eventually. When Tiger and Mouse are safe and ANBU house arrest is over. Hopefully, Tiger isn’t still twitchy around her and Hyena, they only used that genjutsu combination on him once, after all.


	3. Chapter 3

Jackal and Horse are some of the calmest operatives Fox has ever met, certainly the most laidback. She has a theory that someone could set an explosive tag off under their feet and they wouldn’t lose their cool. They’re a far cry from the cold, tense professionalism of most ANBU on a mission, especially one this urgent. They blame doing this for years when she mentions it, no point being high strung all the time, it won’t get their people to safety any faster. Fox and Hyena are more than content to let them lead them on the mad dash to Iwa to retrieve their comrades. 

They pace the border to Iwa warily as Horse leads them. They need a safe opening to get in. They need to avoid alerting Iwa to their presence. It’s already taken them a few days to arrive at the border, they can’t wait too long. Every second Tiger and Mouse are left on the wrong side of the border increases the chance they’ll be corpses when the team arrives. 

Hyena keeps close to Fox as they finally cross the border. It’s a twenty kilometer run towards the coordinates that Mouse’s summons had given. Not a long distance, but with their comrades being circled by Iwa nin, it might as well be the length of the continent. 

They move in complete silence, operating solely on hand signs to communicate. The team’s chakra signatures are suppressed as well, if Iwa has any sensors, they’d rather not find out for themselves. Fox isn’t used to this terrain as they move deeper into Iwa territory. It’s rocky and the trees here are sparse and small. The ground is less dirt and more broken pieces of stone. There’s very little cover and Fox feels exposed as they move, using the larger rocks and the large hills to conceal themselves. Fox concludes quickly that this is no place for shinobi who live and die amongst trees. She can’t imagine how anyone could live out here. How anyone would want to. 

They’re careful to never break formation as they slow down. Better slow and careful than to run straight into an Iwa team. Fox’s ears come in handy for that. It makes it marginally easier to snake around the Iwa nin circling their comrades. Hopefully, it’ll make it easier to get out without issue too. Fox isn’t holding out hope for that. 

It takes nearly a day to cover the distance. A day of moving and stopping and hiding and circling. Fox thinks Assassinations are much easier than this. Getting in without getting caught is difficult. Getting out with two injured comrades without getting caught sounds nearly impossible. Horse and Jackal aren’t phased though. They’re in their element and Fox is extremely impressed, they don’t so much as bat an eye when they have to duck into a shallow cave and wait for an hour or when they have to fall back and circle to avoid being spotted. 

They take it all in stride, like it’s old hat. Which, she supposes, it is to them. Lost and Found is one of the hardest divisions to survive in, and one of the most respected. Going into enemy territory to retrieve comrades earns them nearly the respect the medics in ANBU have. Especially since so often it results in a shorter lifespan for the rescue team. No one calls for an extraction if things haven’t gone to hell, after all. 

They reach the coordinates in the middle of the night. Jackal and Horse approach it warily, like they’re approaching the enemy. Fox learns why a few seconds later, a hail of Kunai fly at their group and they have to scatter. Shit. Another hazard of this job: high strung, Kunai happy comrades. 

Fox ignores the way Hyena automatically moves in front of her, they’re partners, but by Tsunade’s orders, he’s her bodyguard now too. His priority is her life. Even if Fox is irritated by it. She’s used to him guarding her back. Having him actively move to guard her front is a new one though, her first instinct is to snarl, but she suppresses it in favor of watching Jackal talk down a filthy, bloody, feral Tiger. 

Tiger is a wreck. His mask is chipped and cracked, there’s bandages up and down his body, dried blood everywhere there’s not bandages, and Fox is pretty sure he’s nursing a broken wrist. She feels a cold shiver run down her spine. If he’s gotten a broken wrist, what’s happened to the medic that prevented Mouse from fixing it? She hopes it’s just chakra exhaustion preventing the medic from doing that. 

Jackal has to repeat the codes they were all required to memorize for situations like this. There’s a lot. She knows now where her father’s code he used to get her out of his closet after the massacre came from. General forces has their safety codes, ANBU has their own. Her father did not use a general force’s code for her. It’s never gotten less strange to hear someone else say the words her father had used to assure her of safety as a child. 

It takes only a few minutes before the fight slides out of Tiger’s stance and he steps aside to show them Mouse. Mouse is bad. Mouse is much, much worse than Tiger. So bad that Fox can’t even begin to identify most of the medic’s injuries. Fox doesn’t need anyone to speak to know the clock is ticking now. Mouse is a medic, but a medic can’t heal themselves when they’re unconscious. They need to get the medic out of here and to Rat immediately. 

No one disagrees. Tiger is exhausted, but death is a good motivator and his legs aren’t injured. He can run, he will run. Mouse is a different story, someone will have to carry her, while keeping pressure on an injury that Tiger has been singlehandedly keeping from tearing open again. Apparently, that’s been an issue. Even with the haphazard stitches he’d down, the wound just won’t stay closed. Fox can smell the begins of infection and knows that Mouse has the Shinigami hunting her. They can’t afford to go slow this time. They’ll have to risk a chase with Iwa nin. 

So Horse lifts the medic into his arms, makes sure he’s applying pressure to the wound. Fox and Hyena bring up the rear of the group as Jackal leads. It’s a mad dash to the border. It’s a mess. The Iwa nin practically crawl up out of the ground and Fox is only able to dodge the earth jutsu thanks to Kakashi’s teachings. She and Hyena are brutal in their response. Water and lighting and steel are all the Iwa nin get for their trouble. Fox and Hyena are running and fighting at the same time. More than once Hyena slips in front of Fox to block a jutsu she’s pretty sure she would have been able to handle. 

Fox hates this fucking country. That’s what she decides as she dodges an earth jutsu that would have crushed the bones in her leg to dust. She hates Iwa nin. She hates rocks. She hates the fucking weather. She hates not being able to trust the ground beneath her feet. What she hates the most, however, is how much steadier she feels now that she’s got free rein to take her rage out on someone. She’s good at her job. She likes her job, but at times like this, just every once and awhile, she hears a quiet voice in some distant, faded part of her head whisper that in another life she would have hated this. She would prefer that voice shut up. So, she snarls out jutsu and let’s her swords swing through the air and leave blood splattered in their wake. There’s plenty of targets here for her to vent her hate out on. 

Hyena is cackling madly beside her, as lost in the fight as she is, as they cover their teammates. Jackal falls back to help and earth jutsu meets earth jutsu. Fox grins viciously behind her mask at the visible surprise on the face of one pursuer. She is viscerally pleased. Surprises are the death of shinobi, after all. Twelve pursuers are cut down to eight. Then four. Then one. Letting the last one retreat isn’t an option. They may call for reinforcements. So Fox runs through the handseals for the lightning hound and watches it run down them down. 

The run back from there is easy. Fox is high on adrenaline and if she’s injured, she can’t feel it. She can’t afford to. They have a dying medic and a very much not okay Tiger to get to safety. She’ll worry about herself when the mission is over and Rat is fussing over everyone. They cross the border before the sunrises and Fox thinks that’s the sweetest feeling she’s ever experienced. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Post mission sex Scene filler while I work on the actual plot! Enjoy!

Rat pounces on them the moment they make it to medical. The other medics, the ones that aren’t cleared for field work jump into action too. Mouse is the main concern, she’s in terrible condition and if it weren’t for Fox’s hearing letting her hear the weak heartbeat and faint, shallow breathing, Fox would think Mouse is a corpse. Rat focuses on saving Mouse while other medics warily take over dealing with Tiger, who ends up having to be sedated because the moment one of them tries to touch him, he tries to stab them in the neck. Shit. Hyena and Horse have to hold him still for the medic to knock him out. The medics are more careful after that, approaching the rescue team like they’re as high strung and twitchy as Tiger. 

Horse doesn’t need any treatment, he’s immediately released to give his report. Jackal stays back to get his ribs repaired, getting hit with an earth jutsu has a way of breaking bones. Fox has mostly what she considers superficial injuries, deep cuts and large, painful bruises. No breaks or internal bleeding though, so she’s practically foaming at the mouth to be released. Hyena isn’t much better, he’s giggling and jittery and from the way his hands keep twitching, Fox thinks he’ll break someone’s arm if they try to make him quit guarding her long enough to properly look him over. Luckily, he’s only got superficial injuries as well, though Fox gets the feeling he wouldn’t be any easier for the medics to deal with if he had a more severe injury. 

The mission report to Sparrow is quick and to the point when they’re released. She seems to recognize how wound up everyone and doesn’t want to deal with it. Just asks for a verbal summary and that they write the details down for her once they’ve come down from the mission high. No one even considers arguing with her. 

Fox and Hyena end up in neighboring showers. Fox is still worked up and frustrated and snarling, even as the hot water rinses the evidence of the mission away. Hyena apparently takes issues with her snarling, because he practically croons at her, “Hush, Foxy, Foxy, no more fighting tonight.”

Fox snaps out a retort, “Fuck off, Hyena. Maybe I want another fight.”

There’s a pause, then low laughter from her partner, “Shoulda been raised in wartime, little girl. You’d have gotten your fill back then.”

“Don’t call me ‘little girl’,” Fox snarls. 

Hyena appears in front of her shower stall, towel around his waist and mask firmly in place, “Ah, that make little Foxy upset?”

He’s deliberately goading her now. She knows it. She knows he’s trying to get a reaction. That he’s wound just as tight as she is. She just doesn’t care. She bares her teeth in his direction, even though she knows her mask conceals it, “I hate it. I hate Iwa. I hate that fucking mission. I hate rocks. I hate that you’re my fucking bodyguard. I fucking hate that you were treating me like I needed protection. Fuck you.”

Hyena leans against the wall of her shower stall and his head tilts a little to the side, “Someone sounds like they need a nap.”

“I need you to go fuck yourself. The bodyguard bullshit sucks ass. Sage, I don’t need you treating me like I’m fucking delicate,” Fox knows she’s irrational right now. Knows it’s not his fault he’s her bodyguard. Is fully aware this anger is just part of coming down off a stressful mission. It doesn’t change that she’s pissed off and looking for a target. 

Hyena pushes off the shower wall and moves towards her slowly, like a cat stalking a mouse. Fox snarls a warning as he moves into her space, forcing her to back up until she’s up against the wall and the water is falling on both of them. Hyena doesn’t do anything else though, the mask just tilts to look down at her and he nearly purrs out, “Delicate isn’t your thing? Well, if you want rough, all you have to do is ask.”

Fox doesn’t say a word for a second. She was fully unprepared for that one. On instinct, she increases the chakra flow to her nose and inhales once. He smells like he always does. Blood and metal and leaves and spices. With the added muskiness of arousal. So she comes off a mission pissed and he comes off a mission horny. Fox wonders momentarily if he’s always been like that and she’s just never noticed before. She wonders who he used to go to for post-mission sex. Wonders why he’s put off coming to her for post-mission sex until now. Why he’s kept her tucked firmly in the “anytime but after missions” category until now. 

She’s quiet too long, she supposes, because Hyena sighs a little and shrugs, “Well, Foxy, if you change you mind, you know where to find me.”

Fox twitches a little as he steps back and turns. He’s offering stress relief. She likes fucking him. Those are all the reasons she needs right now for her hand to shoot out and grab his arm. For her to pull him back and says, “I’m asking.”

Hyena doesn’t hesitate once she’s spoken, his hands are gripping her hips so tightly, it feels like they’re going to leave hand shaped bruises later and she’s been shoved against the shower wall in the time it takes to inhale. Fox inhales sharply and without thinking moves her mask to the side of her head and is quietly and viciously pleased that Hyena allows her to do the same to him. Eyes that are nearly black with lust and leftover adrenaline meet hers for a moment before he’s lifting her up by the hips and his mouth is on her neck. 

Things from there are fast. Her legs wrap around his waist and his towel falls onto the wet floor. Her nails leave long, red scratches down his back, while his hands leave bruises behind on her hips and ass. She leaves bite marks on his shoulders and he leaves red marks on her neck. It’s more like a fight than foreplay. Fox is distantly aware this is going to leave her even more sore in the morning than she already was going to be, but he grinds himself against her and that thought goes away as quickly as it came. 

He adjusts to holding her up with just his hips and one hand as the other works it’s way between her legs. Fox makes a noise that’s somewhere between a growl and a gasp at the contact and she feels his mouth curve into a grin against her neck, “What happened to all that venom you were spitting, Foxy?”

Fox drags her tongue up his jugular before hissing into his ear, “Do you ever shut up?”

“Why would I—“His fingers work fast, firm circles between her legs and Fox’s thighs tighten around him involuntarily, “—when you get so wet whenever I tell you how I can’t wait to be inside you? How fucking amazing you feel? How hearing all those pretty noises you make is nearly enough to make me come?”

Fox pulls his hair in response until she’s able to press her lips to his to shut him up. She refuses to admit how much she likes the things he says when they’re fucking. Refuses to give him that win. Hyena just keeps working away with his hand. Fox is tense and squirming and she’s so damn close. He doesn’t let up, there’s no teasing now, Hyena seems utterly determined to make her come in the ANBU community bathroom. Fox isn’t going to be able to keep from blushing when she comes in here for months. Thank the sage for masks. 

Then that thought is gone because the tension in her core releases and she’s coming and he’s sliding into her as soon as she is and all thought is gone. Fox makes a high pitched whine as he sets a brutal pace and clings to him like her life depends on it. Fox can hear him speaking in her ear still, hot breath fanning across the side of her face as filth spills out of his mouth. Fox is too busy trying to hold onto him while also keeping from making too much noise, because _Sage, the echo is embarrassing,_ to really focus on what he’s saying. 

Fox’s teeth dig into the spot where his neck and shoulder meets to muffle herself. Hyena’s hands are tighten on her hips again as he picks up the pace even more, he’s gone quiet and Fox knows from experience that means he’s close. Seems that’s the only way he’ll shut up during sex. His rhythm gets short and stuttering and Fox’s thighs tighten around his waist like she’s trying to keep him there for as long as she possibly can. She has one hand on his shoulder for purchase and the other leaving lines across his back when he finally jerks into her once, then twice before holding still. His face is pressed into the side of her neck and she can feel him panting hard. 

One of his hands comes off her hips and fixes her mask back in place before pulling out of her and letting her down. His mask is in place as soon as he’s let go of her. He grabs the now soaking towel off the floor, presses the forehead of his mask to hers and goes to get his things from his shower stall, leaving her to finish showering alone. 

Fox is calmer now in the post-sex haze than she was before. It’s nice, she sees why it’s a popular outlet for so many of her fellow ANBU operatives after missions. It makes her want to sleep more than fight. She tucks away her lingering frustrations to deal with after a good night’s sleep and finished showering. Hyena is waiting for her by the door when she’s done and walks quietly beside her down the hall, not a single giggle or word passing his lips. It was a long mission. They can talk tomorrow. There’s no urgency tonight. 


	5. Chapter 5

Hyena sits down crosslegged on her bed in HQ across from her a day after the mission and takes his mask off, “You’re pissed about the bodyguard thing.”

Fox blinks and takes her mask off too, it’s only respectful to do so. She takes a moment before explaining slowly, “You’re my partner. I don’t like that you have to act like I’m a civilian.”

He nods a little, “I don’t like it either. You’re a shinobi. An equal, you don’t need anymore protection than I already gave you, the same you gave me in return. I’m trying to balance the orders with the fact I know you can hold your own. I promise I’m not trying to treat you like a civilian.”

Katsumi, because she’s Katsumi when the mask is off, tugs the end of her ponytail, “Yeah, I know. Still, I don’t like it. It’s just frustrating.”

“It won’t be forever. I’ll try to hold back some, alright? We’ll survive it, don’t we always?” Yuma grins as he toys with the painted mask in his hands. 

“Don’t think there’s much we can’t survive at this point, considering death literally spat us back out once,” Katsumi points out dryly. 

“Exactly. It’s all just temporary,” Yuma smiles at her, a genuine smile, the one he seems to reserve for private moments.

“You didn’t have a problem the first time you were guarding me, maybe you could handle this the same way you did that?” She vividly remembers how he had trusted her to handle herself back then but had always been close enough to interfere if she needed it. 

“Yeah, I can try. The difference is that was secondary back then to our other missions. This time your life takes precedence and it’s weird, trying to manage that and a mission,” his face twists a little apologetically. 

She considers that and she gets it. A mission comes first, but when a person has a dual mission, involving keeping a fellow shinobi alive, it’s bound to be hard to deal with, “Yeah, yeah, I get that. It’ll be fine.”

Yuma grins suddenly, “Lets find something to do. Before Beetle puts us on paperwork duty again.”

Katsumi grins in response before sliding her mask back on at the same time he puts his back on, “Got any ideas?”

“Sure do. You’ve been practicing those blood techniques, right?” Hyena checks. 

“Yes?”

“And you need to practice using blood that isn’t yours, right?”

Fox blinks owlishly behind her mask, “Yeah, I have to figure out how to make it work with my chakra, why?”

“Well, consider me a willing test subject,” he spreads his arms wide and she can hear the note of amusement in his voice. 

“I’m not going to do that. If I mess up, you die,” Fox immediately refuses. 

“So if I cut myself, really well, and just happened to bleed on the floor, you practicing on the puddle of blood would kill me?” Hyena counters immediately. 

Fox opens her mouth to protest before pausing. He makes a good argument. It wouldn’t kill him. In fact, her scrolls say to use blood already outside of a body. On a battlefield there’s more than enough of that. Only the assassination techniques make use of blood in someone else’s body. She hesitates before nodding, “It wouldn’t kill you, but I don’t really want you bleeding yourself dry.”

Hyena shrugs, “I won’t bleed out. Worst comes to worst, we’ll have to visit Rat.”

“And explain to Rat how you managed to nick an artery in HQ?” Fox isn’t eager for that conversation. 

“I won’t nick an artery. Have some faith in your favorite mission partner,” Hyena’s voice takes on a mock offended tone. 

“I have maybe half an idea of what I’m doing with the blood techniques. I think you have a bit too much faith in me,” Fox is uneasy at the thought of using Hyena’s blood. At the idea of him cutting himself open all so she can practice Ishihara techniques. It feels like too much. She doesn’t like the idea of him bleeding unnecessarily. 

“Nah, it’ll be fine. You just need a little blood to get the feel for putting your chakra into it, right?”

“Still, I’m not sure it’s a good idea,” Fox can’t think of a strong enough argument other than that she doesn’t want him to bleed for her. 

“Why?” Hyena sounds genuinely baffled. 

“Don’t want you cutting yourself up just so I can practice.” Getting cut up in a spar is one thing, that happens, deliberately hurting himself so she can work on her techniques is a different matter.

Hyena tilts his head a little and before she can do anything he has a kunai in his hand and drawing it across the back of his forearm. Fox is speechless as he holds it over her floor. She doesn’t have a single idea how she’s supposed to react now. 

“Whoops. Hand slipped. Well, no use wasting it, you should practice,” Hyena sounds thrilled with himself as he sets to work bandaging the cut. 

“What the fuck,” Fox whispers. 

“Well? Get to practicing before it dries. Unless you want me to do it again?” Hyena sounds like he’s having a great time. 

Fox is internally screaming. Trust Hyena to think doing this is at all okay. She’s no stranger to blood and the cut wasn’t that bad, but she doesn’t want him doing that. She said as much. _She said as much._ Why the fuck did he have to do that anyway?

“Fox. It’s fine. The blood is already there. Might as well make use of it,” Hyena’s voice is calm now, soothing, like he’s talking down the recruit who lost it during the ANBU testing they helped with. 

Fox twitches and nods once. He’s not _wrong._ They can’t put it back. It’s already on the floor. She might as well, still, “Don’t ever do that again.”

Hyena laughs, “As long as you practice now.”

Fox hesitates a moment longer, looking down at the blood. It’s not a lot. Only a few ounces. She moves her hands into the ram seal and begins to stretch her chakra out towards it. The way she does for mist. She’s not trying to really do anything with it. Just get to where the blood actually responds to her chakra. Hyena watches her intently as she focuses, she can feel his eyes on her the whole time. 

Fox has never been good at naming what it feels like to pull water from the air with her chakra. It’s easy, and there’s a definite sensation, but she doesn’t have a real comparison. Hyena’s blood has a sensation too, as she works to make it respond to her chakra. It’s heavier than water, like it doesn’t want to move. It’s different from her own blood. Like it’s slipping away from her despite the heavy feeling to it. Fox understands why this is considered harder than using her own blood. It’s like it doesn’t want her chakra in it. 

She focuses on the feeling of it slipping away. She tries, hard, to make it stop. The blood isn’t moving from its spot on the floor which makes it a strange thing to feel like it’s moving. She thinks of her blood reversal technique and gets why she was able to do that. The blood was retreating from foreign chakra. That’s why it works. This is different. She doesn’t want it to retreat. She wants it to work with her. She just doesn’t know how to make foreign blood do that. 

It happens after twenty minutes of trying. It feels a bit like something clicking into place as the slippery sensation disappears. Fox pauses a moment to memorize that feeling before trying to use Hyena’s blood to make the blood senbon. Just to check she did it. The blood rises up into the air slowly, like she’s dragging it along. It doesn’t form the shape of a senbon, but this is progress. It’s _something._ It’s more than she expected and she’s beaming behind her mask as she releases the jutsu. 

There’s silence and then Hyena speaks, “Knew you could do it.”

Fox laughs loudly and keeps laughing as his laughter joins hers. It’s not a success, but it is at the same time. She’s doing something with blood. Like her clan. The water jutsu they’d hoarded had been a delight to learn, but anyone could do those. This though, this is _hers_ and hers alone. Even Kakashi hadn’t been able to use blood. Fox hasn’t felt this happy about an accomplishment in a long time. 


	6. Chapter 6

Dog, Fox, Cat, Hyena. The last time they were on a mission together it was the Danzo operation. Now they’re chasing a damn ghost. Fox isn’t ashamed to admit she’s not excited about hunting Uchiha Obito. At all. Last time she saw him, she and Sakura nearly died. Fox doesn’t like nearly dying. She doesn’t particularly like running into people who’ve nearly killed her, either. 

Fox is pretty certain this is going to be a mess. They’re going to Ame. Konan’s gone radio silent and she wouldn’t let them remove the eyes from Nagato’s corpse. So they’re getting sent to figure out the situation there and hopefully, discreetly, remove the eyes. Fox doesn’t know how well this is going to go, there’s a strong feeling of unease as the group prepares to go. 

Still, Tsunade wants to know what’s going on there and they want those eyes out of reach of Uchiha Obito. So, they’re going. Whether they want to or not. Dog is Taichou. He’s tense and sharp spoken as he gives them the details of the mission, but he’s not biting heads off so Fox takes that as a good sign. 

They leave quickly, it’s nearly a week to get there and while it may not be the most urgent mission she’s been sent on, they’d like to get there quickly. Fox doesn’t say a word to anyone as they move. None of them speak. Hyena is eerily quiet beside her and she knows he’s as uneasy going to Ame as she is. Ame isn’t exactly a place people like to go. 

They travel fast. Making a straight shot for the border. Dog would make them push through the night if he could, Fox is pretty sure. She’s heard from Cat that Dog hasn’t been Kakashi for awhile. As it is, he still cuts their rest time by an hour. Which is fine. Fox doesn’t mind, but still. Seven instead of eight hours makes watch rotation weird. 

They cross into Ame territory and Fox just has to take it in for a moment. Just needs to look. It’s a depressing place. Not somewhere she’d want to be if she didn’t have to be. Overcast and rocky and if it weren’t for how much water is in the air, she’d want to go home. The water is nice though. Fox likes that part a lot. It will be useful if something goes wrong. 

They go in slowly. Keeping out of sight as they work their way into the metal village. Dog leads them through back alleys and keeps them to the shadows. Fox uses her hearing to try and catch any mention of Konan from the inhabitants of Ame. She doesn’t hear anything about her. Like the woman never existed or something. But she can hear the unrest. Ame is on the verge of a new civil war. Something Fox knows wouldn’t be happening if Konan was living. That doesn’t bode well. 

They search for hours for Konan and don’t do much as get a glimpse of the solemn faced woman. Whatever happened that caused the radio silence, Fox has a feeling they won’t be hearing the story from Konan’s mouth. So they stop looking for the woman and go to where she made a shrine for Nagato’s body. 

Hyena and Cat keep watch while Fox listens for footsteps or heartbeats and Dog goes to examine the body. Fox can practically feel the annoyance rolling of the man as he checks the body open, peeling the eyelids up and letting them close again without removing the eyes. Fox doesn’t think that’s a good sign at all. 

Sure enough, he signs to them, _Target missing._ Fuck. Fox isn’t sure what they’re supposed to do since the eyes are already gone and Konan is missing. She can feel the frustration rolling off her teammates at the knowledge they were too late. This counts as a failed mission. Not something any of them really want on their ANBU records. 

Dog stands there and stares down at the body in the shrine for a moment before shaking his head and signing at them to fall back. Fox grits her teeth to suppress her irritation at the situation as she obeys, Hyena returning to his place beside her in an instant. The mission is a waste of time. They were too late to prevent anything. Konoha should have pushed harder for the eyes. 

There’s nothing they can do though. They can’t force the eyes to appear. So, with extreme reluctance and irritation, they turn back for home. Not a single word is spoken the whole way back. They’re all pissed they failed. Fox is worried though. This has happened in her old memories too. Obito has the eyes. That’s not good. That’s something they’ve wanted to avoid. This mission should have happened months ago. An oversight that Fox knows is going to cost them. 

Tsunade is pissed when they get back and report their findings. The desk gets throw and so does every other piece of furniture in the large office. Fox is more than relieved to get out of that meeting without a concussion. She suspects everyone else is too. A worthless mission and an outcome they were trying to avoid. Fox sighs as they go to HQ, they’re preparing for war and their opponent just got a very, very good piece to play. They need to prepare for that. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y’all! So sorry for being gone from the fic so long! The upcoming arc had me stuck for awhile and while this is a really short chapter, I wanted to get back in the flow! I promise I’m not going on hiatus or abandoning the fic anytime soon!


	7. Chapter 7

For two months, nothing happens. Fox and Hyena are still stuck in HQ and climbing the walls. So Fox obsessively trains. She trains herself as hard as Crane and Bear once trained her. Obsesses over mastering the Ishihara blood techniques now that she’s figured out how to use blood that isn’t hers. Hyena helps her after Fox drags him to Rat for an opinion on how safe letting him donate blood to her training is. A pint at most, every other day, is Rat’s verdict which comes with an order for him to come to her for minor healing after each time. Hyena is irritatingly smug at having Rat’s approval. Fox has been hoping Rat would say no so Hyena wouldn’t be able to argue he should help. 

So it becomes normal for the other ANBU operatives to walk into the training arena to see Hyena dripping a puddle of blood on the floor while Fox manipulates it. It very clearly makes a good handful of her comrades uncomfortable. Especially the newer ones. More than once she’s smelled momentary fear on the newbies when they see her create blood senbon and send them into targets. Hyena thinks it’s great fun. He cackles like mad every time some that hasn’t seen her practicing blood techniques sees it for the first time. 

For two months, that’s all she does. Just practices blood techniques each day until her chakra is low and Beetle tells her to knock it off because she’s scaring the recruits. She masters them though. Masters the blood senbon rain. Figures out how to make blood mist instead of the normal hiding in the mist technique. Grits her teeth and learns the bleeding out technique. A nasty technique that forces an injury to bleed far worse than it should. Hyena had insisted she learn that on him and even gotten Rat to supervise and Beetle to sign off so she couldn’t argue it. Fox would throttle him if she weren’t attached to him. As it is, she mastered it wonderfully quick due to her extreme dislike of bleeding her person dry. 

More than once, Dog comes and watches and Fox wonders if he’s trying to work out how she does it and if it counts as a Kekkai Genkai. She isn’t sure yet if it’s a Kekkai Genkai. Better if it’s not confirmed yet. Or she really would be subject to the stupid laws surrounding not letting Kekkai Genkai’s die out. She figures he won’t go asking either to avoid causing her that problem. They may have some issues lately, but they’re still pack. 

Lion is around too. He invites her to spar when her blood techniques get up to sparing standards. Ink and blood end up everywhere in the arena. She loses when they restrict themselves to only those techniques, but that’s to be expected. She hasn’t learned a lot of the blood techniques yet and the ones she has learned are weaker ones. The stronger ones are difficult to learn in this situation, designed for use on a blood soaked battlefield instead of a single soaring match. As it is, she spends as much time memorizing the theory behind each jutsu as she does practicing them. 

Other than that, she gets to help torment new recruits again. Which she adores. Such good stress relief. Even if none of the recruits think so. Scorpion puts her in charge of scoring them during their skills week and deciding who gets cut and who doesn’t. It makes Fox get the feeling she’s going to end up doing recruitment months more often. If the way Scorpion is giving her more responsibilities besides approved harassment means anything. Fox really just wants to give the recruits a hard time with the approval of superiors. She would rather not have the responsibility of passing judgement on said recruits. 

It’s an odd rhythm she falls into the longer she’s in HQ. Train, spar, harass recruits, deliver paperwork for Beetle, fuck Hyena, gossip with Owl. For two months. She’s going to lose her shit if she doesn’t get to go home at some point. Thank god for Lion agreeing to water her plants for her. Ino would kill her if she let those die. Akiko is already going to kill her for not being able to train her for so long. Fox isn’t sure which of the two would have a higher chance of success. It’s almost enough to make her happy to rot away in HQ slowly. Almost. 

Then Lady Tsunade calls for a Summit. And every fucking ANBU operative is on high alert and practically in anarchy over who gets to go. These things don’t happen often. Most of the time, the Kages would rather ignore each other. But with Tsunade doing her best to get alliances built with the other hidden villages, the biggest question is whether Iwa will be willing to show. This is a rare thing. Every ANBU is more than eager to go as bodyguards to the Hokage. As it is, only her main bodyguards are going. Along with Dog, Fox, and Hyena. Seven ANBu in total. They have a month to prepare for that. A month more before they hopefully have all the hidden villages on the same page and working together. Fox isn’t sure how it’s going to go, but she’s practically foaming at the mouth for it to happen. She would gladly give her left hand to be somewhere other than HQ. 

Fox and Hyena work on combining her blood techniques and his lightning techniques out of curiosity. They don’t work quite as well as their water and lightning combinations, but they get the job done. Just not to an extent they care to use in a real battle. Against weaker opponents though, they could do it. Fox finds she develops an odd ability to recognize Hyena’s blood with her chakra after so much practice. Which she isn’t sure what to make of. It means she can find him easily without her sense of hearing or her sense of smell, but it’s disconcerting as fuck for her to be able to identify him by the way his blood flows through his veins. 

Apparently, she discovers, veins and arteries aren’t all identical in people. There’s very, very minor differences that once she’s gotten used to a person’s blood, she’s able to use as an identifier. It freaks her out badly the first time she notices it, considering she’s in the middle of riding him when she notices. Hyena thinks it’s fucking hilarious that she discovered that then and won’t let her live it fucking down. She’s once again tempted to throttle him. 

By the time the month is over and it’s time to go to the summit. Fox is pretty sure she could find her partner anywhere in a twenty kilometer radius. Even if he uses clones to try and fool her. Since those don’t actually have blood. Being attuned to his blood is a strange thing. Makes her feel a bit like she’s spying on him, even as he assures her he doesn’t mind. That he views it as a good thing. If they get separated, it’s nothing for her to find him anymore, he argues. Better than nothing. Useful. Fox decides she’s going to have to read even more of the Ishihara scrolls to see if any of her ancestors knew about this and how the fuck they practiced blood techniques outside of actual battle. But not until after the Summit. It’ll have to wait until that’s over with. 


	8. Chapter 8

Preparations for the Kage Summit are fast and efficient. For the ANBU going, there’s a massive amount of protocol to review. It almost feels like being in the academy and studying for a test again. Except if she breaks any of the protocol, Fox might end up in Ibiki’s basement. As a result, Fox is very careful to memorize everything. Hyena goes over it with her, for once utterly serious as they do. Kage Summits aren’t a common occurrence, and no one wants to be known as the ANBU who fucked it up. That isn’t a legacy anyone wants. 

Everyone is tense and alert the day it’s time to go. Fox, Hyena, and Dog are put on detail to keep everyone accompanying the Hokage safe. Which means sticking to the shadows as they watch for threats and keep an eye on the shinobi going to the Summit. It’s a long list of people. Ibiki, Shikaku, Shizune, Sakura, Itachi, and a handful of other shinobi. Fox decides not to point out that with Itachi, Ibiki, and Shikaku, the protection derail she’s on is probably pretty close to unnecessary as it gets. 

It’s a long trek to get to the summit. It’s in the land of Iron, one of Fox’s least favorite places, solely due to how cold it gets and the fact that avoiding samurai is a pain in the ass. At least for Summits, the Samurai grant permission for shinobi to be in their country. It makes things simpler, but it still feels like she’s marching into enemy territory. Hyena isn’t helping. As the days pass and they get closer to the border, she can practically feel him fighting the urge to go full bodyguard on her since Tsunade’s yet to lift that order. It makes watch a pain, because she knows Hyena isn’t sleeping enough because he’s worried about something happening and not being constantly ready for it. 

Dog being in his perpetually pissed off mood isn’t helping either. Fox has the insane urge more than once to see if she can’t push him until he lashes out and works through the anger that way. She seriously considers doing just that once they’re back in the village. Hyena can drag her to Rat if Dog takes it too far. Rat will probably only scold her for an hour or two. 

Fox can feel the temperature dropping as the group gets closer to the border. Konoha has to be the first ones to arrive at the Summit’s location as the village that called for the Summit. First to arrive and last to leave. That’s the tradition. If it can be called that. Fox thinks there’s only been one or two Kage Summits before. She’s not sure that’s enough to create traditions. As a result, they’re aiming to be a week early. Which means being there for well over a month. Fox is quietly mourning her ability to be warm as they approach the border. She’s not going to be able to feel her fingers for over a month. Why anyone willing lives in the Land of Iron, she’ll never know. At least Iwa isn’t cold like this, as much as she can’t stand that country either. She never realized how picky she was about where she lives until she started taking missions in less than ideal climates. 

When they finally arrive at the Summit, Fox is relieved to see the building is heated with fuinjutsu. Thank the Sage. It’s a big building, built specifically for the Summits with five separate wings for each Village’s delegations to stay in and a large meeting room for the Kages to argue in. Because from what Fox could gather from beetle, as important as the Summits are, a large portion of it seems reserved for petty squabbling. In truth, that doesn’t surprise Fox in the least. The ANBU guards all have to share a room. Which is fine since they’re working in rotation. Fox would feel awkward being the only female here if she hadn’t become so used to it already. As it is, she’s become accustomed to having professional conversations while the person she’s talking to is in the middle of stripping out of their uniform or putting it on. She’s pretty sure if she were a civilian, it would be entirely inappropriate, but shinobi steadily forget the concept of modesty as missions pile up. 

It’s a day before the first of the other delegations is expected to arrive that Hyena seems to have enough of Dog’s foul mood. The three of them are on their off time while the other operatives handle guard duty and Fox is reclining on her bed, spinning a kunai on her fingers when it happens. Hyena’s near unending laughter stops abruptly and she can feel a thread of killing intent leak into the air from him. Fox tenses instinctively as she sees the way his head follows every movement Dog makes. 

“Thought only bitches went into heat,” Hyena’s voice is deep and dark. Fox will have to talk to him about saying sexist shit like that. If he wants to start shit, he should leave gender out of it. 

Dog head cocks to the side, “Something you need to say, Hyena?”

“Sure, Whatever your issue is, get the fuck over it. Everyone is sick of walking on eggshells around you without even knowing why. So talk to someone or fight someone or fuck someone, I really don’t give a shit. Get your head screwed back on straight,” Hyena’s voice is utterly serious and utterly sane. There’s not a hint of the manic excitement his voice normally has when he’s in his mask. It puts Fox on edge to hear. 

Dog’s whole body seems to coil. Fox has a feeling he’s either going to lash out or do his best to make Hyena uncomfortable enough to drop the conversation. Fox sighs and resigns herself to a mess of a break. Her former Sensei’s voice is a dark purr when he speaks, “You should remember your place on this team, Hyena.”

“I know exactly why I’m here, Taichou. I think you’re letting your emotions interfere with how you conduct missions. Which means you’re not suited to leading right now and I’m not confident in your abilities anymore. So get your shit together,” Hyena’s voice has a hard edge to it. She’s never heard him like this. Not as Yuma or Hyena. She wonders just how sick of Dog’s shit he must be to get to this point. 

Dog is eerily silent as he stares at her partner. It makes a low growl of warning rise in Fox’s throat. Who it’s directed at, even she’s not sure. She feels a bit like she’s standing too close to an explosive tag with no way to get away from it. As it is, she doesn’t want a fight breaking out, and quietly speaks, “Now isn’t the time for this. Dog was trusted to do this mission, Hyena. If he wasn’t able to, he wouldn’t be here. Hyena’s concerns are valid, Dog. You’re worrying everyone in HQ.”

Dog is stiff as a board as he turns his head to look at her, “Is that so?”

“Yes. You’re worrying me too. You’re acting like you want to hurt someone,” Fox points out, “No one wants to be in your line of sight if you do decide to lash out.”

“You’re scared of me?” Dog’s voice has an odd, pained quality to it that his normally monotone speech doesn’t. 

“Of course not, but you’re worrying everyone. You’ve been an ass for months now, but now isn’t the time to deal with it,” Fox spins the Kunai in the other direction as Dog and Hyena both stay silent after that. She has no idea what Dog finally did to set Hyena off or if any of what was said will stick to Dog. She’s pretty convinced Hyena was right when he listed out the things Dog probably should try to deal with his Uchiha Obito issue. She’s just not going to say that. Fox is really hoping this conversation sticks with Dog though. If it doesn’t, this summit is going to feel even longer than it already does. She would prefer to not be cold _and_ miserable. She might be the one to snap if Dog makes everyone tense the entire time. HQ has felt like a damn minefield for months now that he knows about Obito. She’s really, truly hoping he’ll chill out for just a little while up here. She’s not really expecting him to, though. Dog doesn’t handle emotions well. It’s just how her Hunting Alpha is. 


	9. Chapter 9

Suna is the first to arrive. Fox is safely hidden out of sight as she watches Naruto’s friend, Gaara, dressed in full Kazekage apparel greet Lady Hokage. Temari and the puppet master she remembers from her Chuunin exams, Kankuro, she thinks, are on either side him. She doesn’t recognize any of the rest of the Suna delegation as cool, calm greeting are exchanged and small talk made. Iwa is expected next, Fox knows that’s going to be a much less cordial greeting. She’d heard through the grapevine that they barely agreed to come. Kumo is apparently bringing Jiraiya and Naruto when they finally get here. Kiri is expected last, being the furtherest from the Land of Iron. Fox hopes they bring Haku and Zabuza, she may not be allowed to speak with them while she’s in her mask, but she likes messing with Zabuza. And Haku is nice. She’s missed them a little bit. Not that she’ll tell Inoichi that. She doesn’t need more deconditioning therapy. 

Fox doesn’t twitch when a Suna ANBU joins her in her spot, nodding once to her in greeting. Suna ANBU uniforms have always been interesting to her. Just cloth covering the lower half of their face for a mask. She knows Suna favors clothing like that, but to see it used in an ANBU division is something fascinating to her. She would ask about it if she didn’t think she’d be breaching protocol by speaking to the Suna ANBU. If every village is bringing ANBU, Fox thinks things are going to get extremely crowded in the good guarding spots. She’s not even sure what Iwa and Kumo ANBU look like. She knows only Konoha uses animal masks and code names and that Kiri masks are mostly plain except for a few lines of color for identification purposes. Beyond that and the Suna face cloths, she doesn’t know much about the ANBU divisions of other villages. She supposes she’s going to learn about them now. 

It’s nearly three hours later that Iwa arrives and just as expected, the greetings exchanged are anything but friendly. And the temperature seems to drop when an Iwa ANBU joins her and the Suna ANBU in their spot. Fox is actually startled by the mask. It’s designed to look like an Oni. No paint but the level of detail is immense. It even has pointed teeth coming out just like Oni are depicted as having. It’s rather unnerving. She can see why Iwa chose to do their masks like that. If someone in that mask was hunting her, she’d probably have a moment of pure fear if she’d never seen one before. Unlike the Suna ANBU, the Iwa operative doesn’t offer any form of acknowledgement as they settle in nearby. Just studiously focuses entirely on what’s going on below them. 

By the time Scorpion comes to relieve her of her shift, Kumo has arrived as well. Their ANBU just wear half masks that cover the eyes and nose. Fox thinks that’s not very good for concealing identities, but who is she to judge? If that’s what they want, so be it. It’s not like it really matters to her. She’s gone from her post as quickly as Scorpion appears. She’s got twelve hours before her next shift and there’s at least a day left before anyone expects Kiri to arrive. 

Fox isn’t allowed to go anywhere out of the mask while she’s here and isn’t allowed free reign of the building either. So she’s stuck in the room the Konoha ANBU are sharing and sharpening her weapons as a way to pass the time. Hyena is in the shower and Dog is pacing the length of the room. Fox lets her eyes track Dog’s movements as she works and keeps on ear out for any trouble. 

“If you keep pacing like that, you’re going to wear a hole in the floor and I’m pretty sure Konoha would have to pay for that,” Fox points out calmly. She’s not sure when she became the calmer of her and Dog, but she’s not a fan of it. He’s supposed to be the easygoing one. 

Dog sighs audibly, but doesn’t stop pacing, “Focus on the mission, Fox.”

“I’m stuck in a room for twelve hours with you and Hyena, hard not to focus on you two instead,” Fox retorts. 

“Try,” Is all he says back to that. 

The shower in the bathroom shuts off a moment later and Fox declines to respond in favor of gathering her things to go shower next. She doesn’t really care to be in a room with Hyena and Dog more than she has to be since Hyena not so politely told Dog to get a grip. They could really use a sparring area. She thinks it would do them both some good. 

Hyena comes out, hair dripping water and mask firmly in place, after a few minutes, “Foxy’s turn. Don’t use all the hot water, Taichou needs to thaw out a bit.”

Fox snorts a little and bumps his arm with hers as she walks by him, “No starting shit.”

“Have a little trust,” Hyena giggles a little and his hand grabs her arm lightly to stop her for a moment before he presses his forehead to hers. He lets go a second later and she can hear him making snide remarks to Dog as she closes the door to the bathroom. 

Fox sighs to herself as she turns on the shower and takes her mask off. She’s spent so much time as Fox that whenever she takes her mask off to shower, it’s a jarring experience. She has to take a moment to recognize her own face. After the summit, she needs to be Katsumi again. She doesn’t think she can just be Fox forever. She thinks it would drive her insane. After the Summit, she’s going to be Tsunade to let her go back to general forces. She has the seal Naruto put on her. If Obito tries anything, she can use that. 

Fox is quick as she showers, needing a break from the tension in her team, but not willing to leave them alone a moment longer than she has to. Fox is pretty sure she doesn’t have the social skills to keep them from attacking each other if things go really bad, but she knows she’s skilled enough to separate the pair of worst comes to worst. 

She comes back out to a silent stare down between Hyena and Dog. With a snap of her teeth, she gestures to the bathroom, “Should shower, Taichou, you’ll start to stink if you don’t.”

Dog’s painted mask tilts to stare down at her for a moment, before he pats her head once, “Thank you, Fox.”

She quirks and eyebrow behind her mask at the sudden display of manners and watches as he goes to the bathroom next before turning to look at Hyena, “Why are you trying to piss him off?”

“Sooner or later Taichou goes  _boom._ Might as well be sooner,” Hyena mimics an explosion with his hands as he sits on the end on one of the beds. 

Fox shakes her head, “We have other villages here.”

“Sure do. Gonna try to make him explode for real once we make it to the village,” Hyena explains. 

“Why? You want him to try and hospitalize you?” Sometimes, Fox struggles to comprehend Hyena’s logic. Even after knowing him so long, some of it is a total mystery to her.

“Nah, want him to quit suppressing everything, not healthy, you know? The Yamanaka’s can’t help him if he doesn’t want to be helped, so making him blow up is the first step to helping,” Hyena sounds like he’s quoting someone. 

“Don’t cause an international incident,” Is all Fox can think to say to that. 

“Don’t get kidnapped by Kiri,” Hyena retorts with a wild laugh. 

“Kiri doesn’t even know I’m here,” Fox laughs as she remakes her bed for something to do, “I’m not going anywhere.”

Hyena hums a little and nods, “Good Foxy. I’d have to come break you out if you did. That  _would_ cause an international incident.”

“You say it like you wouldn’t enjoy causing Kiri a headache,” Fox muses. 

“Only for a good cause,” Hyena’s voice holds a smile in it. 

She snorts a little, “I’m going to sleep, if you wake me up by having a fight with Taichou, I’m going to lock you out in the snow soaking wet. Both of you.”

“So I can wake you up in other ways?” His voice takes a suggestive tone to it. 

“Not while we’re sharing a room with other people,” Fox lays on top of her newly made sheets and gets comfortable, facing away from the rest of the room. 

“No fun,” Hyena sighs in mock disappointment. 

“Wake me if shit hits the fan,” Is all she says to that. She hopes her team doesn’t fuck up her sleeping because they can’t behave for a few hours. They’re supposed to all be sleeping now. Maybe they’ll remember that at some point. That’d be nice. They can’t bicker if they’re unconscious after all.


	10. Chapter 10

Kiri’s delegation arrives and Fox watches intently as Zabuza and Chōjūrō flank the Mizukage. She doesn’t even need to do more than inhale to recognize that the Kiri ANBU that joins the little ANBU party in her hiding place is Haku. She is surprised to see Suigetsu smirking beside Chōjūrō. So the little white haired shit made it back to Kiri after all. And they didn’t execute him. Good for him, she supposes. 

The Kages don’t waste any time getting down to business now that the last of them have arrived. They move to the Kage chamber with everyone they brought along and the ANBU follow silently behind, taking up visible spots along the wall as protocol dictates they do during the Summit. Fox’s eyes flick Dog and Hyena for a moment before she focuses on what’s in front of her. There are so many people here aside from just the Kages. Everyone brought large delegations. People they thought would be useful or people they decided to bring to remind the other Kage that their village has dangerous shinobi too. Naruto and Jiraiya may have arrived with Kumo, but they’ve moved to stand with their comrades behind Tsunade. Naruto looks excited about this little gathering and Fox wonders idly if he realizes just how serious the situation is for a Summit to be called. She hopes he figures it out quick if not. 

The Tsuchikage is a small man, an old one, she remembers him in her old memories, tired of war, tired of the death of his people. That is not this man. Old, yes. Small, yes. But the changes made by her Village’s use of her knowledge created enough space for movement that he was willing to toy with war if he thought Konoha weak enough to take on. This Tsuchikage glares at Tsunade and gets straight to the point, “Well, Lady Hokage, you called us all here, what could be so important?”

“Yes, Lady Hokage, do tell. So rarely do we all see each other,” Lady Mizukage purrs. The woman looks much more entertained than Fox thinks is appropriate for this situation, but Mei-Sama is like that. 

Lady Tsunade laces her fingers together and her eyes are hard as steel and her voice sharper than a sword’s edge as she responds, “This is not the time for petty rivalries or old grudges, Lord Tsuchikage. I ask you put your feelings aside for the time being. Konoha has come across a threat to the entire shinobi world and as one, we must answer it.”

“The entire shinobi world? What could possibly be a threat to all five of us? You may be forgetting, but Konoha is not all there is,” Lord Raikage rumbles. 

“I assure you, I am not. Jiraiya’s spy network has unearthed information of a plot that if allowed to come to pass without all of us working together, will be the end of all of our villages,” Tsunade gestures to Shizune, “Each of you is being given a file that I sincerely encourage you to read before you refuse to hear me out.”

Shizune passes each of the Kages a file thicker than than Hyena’s arm as Gaara fixes Lady Hokage with a level stare, “Master Jiraiya’s infamous spy network? All of this information is up to date and validated? I will not risk my Shinobi’s lives on anything less.”

“All of it has been confirmed,” Lady Tsunade nods once as each Kage looks over the files. 

Lady Mizukage raises one fine eyebrow, “I see Konoha birthed the problem.”

Tsunade offers a small, sardonic smile to the woman, “An unfortunate situation. One we all must come together to rectify.”

“Why should I believe any of this is true? It reads like a fantasy novel,” Lord Tsuchikage scoffs. 

“Lord Tsuchikage isn’t wrong. This is extremely out there. The level of detail is impossible unless you have an inside man,” Lord Raikage doesn’t sound as disbelieving as the Tsuchikage. Just like he needs Tsunade to convince him beyond a shadow of a doubt. 

“I will not reveal our source, but I can assure you, it is all true. Uchiha Obito will bring us to our knees if we do not work together,” Tsunade says in a flat tone. 

“You say one man could end us all?” Lord Raikage sounds doubtful. 

“All it took was two men to create our world as we know it,” Tsunade points out calmly, “And it was one of those men that made Uchiha Obito into the threat he is today.”

“You say you won’t reveal your source, I respect that, but I need to know, do you really trust this source? Are you certain they’re truthful?” Gaara seems to be reading each page of his file one by one, without flipping through it. 

“Our source hasn’t been wrong yet. They are not wrong now,” Tsunade says firmly. It makes Fox’s chest warm to know her Hokage has this much faith in her and her old memories. Fox knows her part in all this will never be in the history books, that she will receive no accolades for the things she’s done for her village, but hearing her Hokage sound so certain of her is more than enough. It’s not as if she ever desired to do anything but serve her village and serve it well. 

“That may be so, Lady Hokage, but forgive me if I don’t trust the word of an unknown source,” Lady Mizukage sounds genuinely apologetic, “Though I find the bit in my file that pertains to my predecessor quite interesting. I would be delighted to know how they came across that information.”

“My source is a loyal Konoha shinobi and I will not compromise their safety for your curiosity,” Lady Tsunade sounds like she is fighting not to snap at the woman, “Uchiha Obito is working together with a creature named Zetsu in order to enact a plan to put the entire world under an endless genjutsu. If that comes to pass, we are all doomed.”

“If you’re wrong, and we help you, my village wastes precious time and resources on nothing,” Lord Tsuchikage shakes his head though Fox notices he seems shaken as he looks over one page. She wonders which it is. 

“If I’m right and we do nothing, can you live with the outcome?” Tsunade retorts. 

Lord Raikage looks extremely irritated, “Looks to me like you can’t clean up your own mess and want us to do it for you.”

“Konoha has as much pride as the rest of us. They would not admit a weakness like that,” Gaara answers monotonously. 

“Lord Kazekage is correct, I sincerely doubt Konoha would be so foolish as to invite one of us to attack them like this,” Lady Mizukage sounds amused at the thought. 

“I want to speak with your source directly,” Lord Raikage demands, “This is not the information of a single spy network, it’s the work of one person, it’s too detailed to be anything but.”

“My source is safe only so long as they are unknown. You’re asking me to put a target on the back of one of my most loyal operatives to satisfy your curiosity. I will not do it,” Lady Hokage reiterates, brown eyes fierce and unyielding. 

“What would we even get in return for helping you? I will not fight a war on your behalf without something in return,” Lord Tsuchikage points out, “These things are expensive and I’m not convinced this isn’t your way of trying to delegate your village’s mistake away.”

“This is an international threat, Lord Tsuchikage, you will find that if one of us falls to Uchiha Obito, all of us will,” Lady Hokage seems supremely unimpressed by the fact the Iwa man is trying to get compensation for this. 

The questioning and bickering continues for hours. Fox can see why Summits are a weeks long thing. It’s posturing and petty arguments and distrust all combined with politics. At least Suna and Kiri seem to be open to helping. Of course, the fact they’re already Konoha’s allies helps with that. Fox is exhausted just watching the Kages debate amongst each other. She can’t imagine how they’re able to debate so long like this without losing their tempers. She thinks she’d go insane with the way they seem to be talking in circles and trading barbs. It’s going to be hell when they allow their delegates to speak too. She can already imagine the absolutely headache that’s going to be. She hopes Scorpion’s team is less stressed listening to the bickering than she is. And that this Summit doesn’t end in any village declaring war on another.


	11. Chapter 11

Scorpion’s team comes in after their shift just past noon on the forth day and Fox can feel the stress pouring off them. She supposes the Kages are still being petty assholes. Just being in a room with that level of posturing is enough to make anyone want to tear their hair out. She almost pities her comrades, but considering she has to deal with that and Dog and Hyena’s behavior, she’s running low on care. 

Her team enters the meeting room silently and take up their positions along the wall with the foreign ANBU. Tsunade looks like she wants to put someone through a wall as she says in the most forcibly calm voice Fox has ever heard, “Lord Raikage, you have already said you read over the entire file, what is it exactly that you’re questioning?”

“Uzumaki sealed this Gēdo statue, did he not? Without that, without the ability to seal the tailed beasts, what threat could Uchiha Obito possibly pose?” 

“Uzumaki, if you would explain the problem you discovered with the seal you used,” Tsunade gestures to Naruto.

Fox watches impassively as Naruto practically jumps forward, buzzing with energy to explain the seal he used, “So the problem with the seal— I didn’t see it at the time, because I was working fast— is that when I switched it halfway through to keep it open instead of hold it in place, I left a keyhole— so that’s a way to unlock the seal if you put the right additions to the seal on, dattebayo. That means anyone with the time, determination and basic fuinjutsu knowledge could figure out how to remove the seal. It’s a small keyhole, though! I had to rewrite it five times before I even noticed it, dattebayo.”

“Is it obvious what ‘key’ is needed to undo it?” Lady Mizukage inquires lightly, eyes watching the blonde sharply. 

“Not really, dattebayo. At least, not if a person isn’t a fuinjutsu specialist. It would take months to manage it at the very least, Dattebayo,” Naruto sounds hesitant as he follows that up with, “A specialist could figure it out in weeks. Days if they’re a master, dattebayo.”

Lord Kazekage’s face is blank but still somehow manages to convey concern, “That is unfortunate. However, without the tailed beasts inside of it, which, it’s my understanding takes an extreme degree of time and energy, is it truly a threat still?”

Naruto glances back at Tsunade and at her gesture, returns to his spot beside Jiraiya. Tsunade leans back in her chair and taps her fingers against the table, “Yes, if Uchiha Obito— who, might I add, is already in possession of both the sharingan and the mokuton— has done what we think and taken possession of the famed Rinnegan, then it is an extremely dangerous situation we’re facing. One not to be taken lightly.”

Lord Tsuchikage is silent for a long moment, before saying with something like resigned humor, “You Konoha shinobi never cause small problems, do you?”

Tsunade merely raises an eyebrow, “Uchiha Obito may have once been a Chuunin of Konoha, but what he became after he was declared killed in action was entirely by his own choice. He may have been born in Konoha, but he is not ours and has not been since the moment he chose not to return to us.”

“A strong denouncement, Lady Hokage, your predecessor would never have done that,” Lord Raikage sounds mildly impressed. 

Tsunade raises her chin a fraction higher, “I am not my predecessor and this is not his Konohagakure.”

Fox understands immediately what the woman is doing by declaring that. Sarutobi Hiruzen was seen as weak from the moment he ended the third shinobi war with a treaty when Konoha was clearly winning. If Tsunade wants the other villages to work with them instead of taking this as an invitation to turn on Konoha, she can’t show the same weakness. Blood in the water has to be avoided at all costs. 

Lady Mizukage offers a sharp, vicious smile at that, “I’m beginning to see that. What you’re asking for is unprecedented, however. All the villages working as one army? You can’t expect our shinobi to be able to work with one another like that so easily. There’s entire oceans of blood between our villages. Too many shinobi on all sides carry the weight of that blood, would you be able to trust an Iwa shinobi not to try and take their pound of flesh from one of your people in the chaos of battle? Or trust yours not to turn on Suna for that invasion a few years ago?”

“My shinobi know their duty to the village comes before all personal feelings, old grudges included. Perhaps you should reevaluate how you train your shinobi if you truly believe your people would disobey you merely to satisfy an old grudge,” Tsunade retorts without missing a beat. 

“Say Kumogakure agrees to help, to join into this... alliance. Say we fight together and win. What happens after? Are our shinobi safe to return home or will our allies only a few moments before turn on us?” Lord Raikage rumbles out. 

“When has an ally ever turned on another mere moments after a war ends?” Tsunade sounds as if she can’t believe she heard him correctly, “No one wants one war, much less two back to back.”

Fox privately thinks that may not be true if Kumo is already voicing concern over it, but she’s pretty sure Tsunade is treading carefully even with the bluntness and near rudeness of some of the things she says. Once again, Fox is grateful she’ll never have to navigate politics like this. She has the social skills of a rock and she’s pretty sure she’d cause an international incident if she had to do this. 

“This Obito is no fool, from the files, he’s cunning and unpredictable. Say we amass our shinobi in one place, how can you be sure he won’t just attack our villages?” Lord Kazekage muses. 

“That is something we’ve taken into consideration. Our mind specialists have come to the conclusion that in based in his... penchant for theatrics, Uchiha Obito is unlikely to do that, but on the off chance he is, it’s Konoha he will come for first. Which means your villages will be safe for a time,” Lady Tsunade’s composure never once shows uncertainty. 

“Ah yes, Konoha’s famed clan of torturers, forgive me if I don’t trust the word of your pet sadists,” Lord Tsuchikage’s lip curls at the mention of the Yamanaka’s. Fox has never really thought about how other villages don’t see how much the Yamanaka’s care about the mental wellbeing of Konoha’s shinobi, that they only see the side of them that breaks minds. It’s an odd thing to think about. 

“Don’t be so quick to dismiss them, Lord Tsuchikage, who would know the mind of a madman better than those who spend their lives learning the best ways to break a mind?” Lady Mizukage chides. 

“You said safe for a time,” Lord Raikage points out, seemingly uninterested in the barbs being thrown over the Yamanaka clan’s mention. 

“If one falls, we all fall. Our choices are stand apart and fall for sure, or stand together and have a fighting chance,” Lady Tsunade answers, voice full of steel. 

Gaara nods just enough for it to be noticeable, “Suna will stand with its Konoha allies, I urge the rest of you to make the same decision. We lose nothing if she is wrong that we can not recover in time. We lose everything if she is right and we do nothing.”

Fox uses the moment of silence that induces to take in everyone’s reactions. Temari and Kankuro don’t look surprised at all by their Kazekage’s decision. Tsunade’s mouth is quirked up on one side in small, victorious smirk. The Mizukage’s face gives nothing away, but Zabuza’s eyes are as sharp as Kunai as they too track over everyone else in the room. Chōjūrō doesn’t look nervous at all for once, his face seems made of stone and beside him, a slow, vicious grin is forming on Suigetsu’s face. The Iwa and Kumo delegations all wear calculating expressions as they take in Gaara’s words. Finally, her eyes go to her people. Ibiki’s face is the same stern glare it always is. Jiraiya looks smug and Naruto is beaming at Gaara. Shizune looks both hopeful and calculating at once, but it’s Shikaku’s face that interest Fox. She knows that look. It’s the look he gets when he’s figured out the exact route he needs to win a shogi match and knows he can make it happen. Fox knows from personal experience that being in the receiving end of that look means a person has already lost. 

“Lord Kazekage, Konoha appreciates our steadfast ally,” Tsunade inclines her head towards the youngest Kage. Fox can tell this is the beginning of the end of the bickering. Kiri is Konoha’s other ally, they’ll have to follow suit sooner or later or risk looking like they aren’t as committed to the alliance as they should be. Fox isn’t sure how Iwa and Kumo will be convinced, but she knows they will be. They have to be, one way or another. 


	12. Chapter 12

“This is really going to happen, isn’t it?” Hyena sounds a little in awe of the situation as the three of them relax in their room, “We’re going to war because of one badly behaved Uchiha.”

Fox snorts a little, “In my limited experience, most Uchiha are badly behaved.”

“Fair point, Foxy, but none of the others caused all five hidden villages to have to work together, think that’s a new level of badly behaved,” Hyena’s leg is shaking with whatever nervous energy he’s containing as they talk. 

Dog is sharpening Kunai while sitting in a chair by the far wall, “Iwa and Kumo are on the fence, it will take more to convince them than that file.”

“They’ll be convinced. Eventually,” Fox says firmly. There’s no room for failure here, the sooner the other villages are on board, the more time to prepare, “This alliance is going to be messy.”

“A single army of shinobi. That’s what Tsunade is attempting to create. It’s going to be rough at first,” Dog agrees monotonously. 

“Gonna be a party,” Hyena giggles a little. 

“Not sure it’s a party anyone really wants to be at,” Fox mutters. 

That makes Hyena start cackling in earnest. Which makes Dog snap a bit, “There’s nothing funny about this situation.”

Hyena just cocks his head to the side and Fox just knows he’s about to really piss off Dog. Hyena’s voice is a purr as he responds, “Actually, Taichou, there’s a lot funny about this shitstorm. The least of which is that the the dead dead-last is not in fact dead, and is in fact, now one of the biggest threats anyone has ever seen. I think that’s pretty fucking funny.”

Dog is eerily still and silent and holding the Kunai in a tight grip. Fox sighs and just hopes they don’t break any protocol today. Apparently, Hyena doesn’t need a response from anyone to keep going, “But you know the funniest fucking thing about this whole fucking mess? That someone is gonna get the honor of being the first person ever to get to figure out how to remove a name from the fucking memorial stone. Who’d have thought we’d ever need to do that? Much less because of some second rate cannon fodder left over from the third shinobi war?”

That’s what finally does it. Fox knows everyone that’s been in the meeting room knows by now that Uchiha Obito was Kakashi’s teammate. She has no idea if Hyena has connected the dots and figured out that’s why Dog has been so pissy lately or not, but he’s managed to finally make Dog lose it. Dog is across the room and dragging Hyena up off the bed to slam against the wall before anyone can so much as blink and the white haired shinobi is just oozing killing intent, “You have no idea what you’re talking about, Hyena.”

“Sure I do, Taichou. You’ve spent nearly twenty years grieving the boy you remember, only to learn the boy isn’t as dead as you thought and now you have to watch him die all over again. It’s a fucked situation, but you know what? Uchiha Obito might still be alive, but he’s not the boy you grieved anymore. He’s not your friend, anymore. Don’t forget that.” Hyena doesn’t seem at all bothered by the position he’s in or the killing intent the other man is leaking into the air. Just keeps on mercilessly. If anything, he sounds like he’s getting exactly what he wants by this reaction. 

Dog’s forearm presses tighter into Hyena’s neck and he sounds feral as he snarls back, “That’s enough, None of this is your business.”

Hyena sounds like he’s sporting a shit eating grin behind his mask as he answer, “Better figure your shit out soon, Taichou. You know, before he dies for real.”

Dog releases him and steps away with a furious, animalistic sound tearing from his throat. The killing intent is gone in an instant as Dog storms out of the room. Where he’s going is beyond Fox, but at least he didn’t murder Hyena. 

Hyena stays leaning against the wall and seems entirely unbothered by the fact he was probably one wrong word away from needing his trachea repaired. Fox shakes her head at him, “Don’t you think that was a bit harsh?”

Hyena shrugs one broad shoulder, “Maybe, but Taichou would have ignored me otherwise and he needed to hear that.”

Fox watches him fall back onto his bed carelessly and sighs, “You know we aren’t allowed to spar here, right? You’re putting pressure on him without giving him an outlet.”

“Foxy, have a little trust that I know what I’m doing. Dog bottles shit up more than a sake factory. He’s gonna blow sooner or later whether I’m here or not,” Hyena sounds like he’s tired just thinking about all of Dog’s issues. 

Fox isn’t sure what to make of these rare occasions that Hyena sounds like Yuma instead of Hyena. Logically, she knows they’re the same person. Just two different parts, the same way Fox and Katsumi are the same, but she’s so used to Hyena’s more manic behavior that when it goes away it’s a startling change. As it is, Fox just nods a little, “Rat will kill us all if you get yourself hospitalized by Dog at the first Kage Summit in decades.”

“Nah, She’d understand. Eventually,” Hyena waves a hand dismissively in the air. As if a pissed off Rat isn’t a terrifying thought to every single ANBU operative that’s ever met the woman. 

“Things are going to get really ugly soon,” Fox’s thoughts turn back to the more pressing issues at hand. 

“Well, if it helps, at least we aren’t at war with Iwa,” Hyena offers. 

“Give it a decade,” Fox mutters as she recalls her conversation with Shikaku over the last shogi game they played. This alliance is necessary, but the chances of it lasting long term are slim to none if something isn’t done to keep it intact. Their history isn’t exactly filled with decades and decades of peacetime. It’s closer to decades of war with a few years in between each to lick their wounds and forget the horrors of war just enough to be willing to do it again. 

“Well, aren’t you a ray of sunshine?” Hyena laughs a little, one hand coming up to run through the his shaggy, sand colored hair. 

“Please, you like that I’m not stupidly optimistic, don’t even start,” Fox snips back. They’re ANBU, optimism isn’t something that survives their world. They’re realists by necessity. Their hopefulness exists most in those desperate moments when they’re doing everything in their power to make a grim situation change into something more acceptable. And even then, they never forget how slim the odds often are. Naruto’s optimism would never survive in ANBU, it’s what makes Fox happy he was never even glanced at by ANBU as a potential recruit. 

“How you were on a genin team with Uzumaki and didn’t get infected with that same insane optimism is beyond me,” Hyena laughs. 

“Stubbornness and stupid stunts are the trademarks of my genin team, not optimism,” Fox snorts. 

Hyena sounds amused, “Sounds about right, Foxy. Probably would have gotten along with my team.”

Fox grins behind her mask, “You’ll have to introduce me to them sometime, once this is all over.”

Hyena laughter fades and she can hear the old grief in his voice as he tells her quietly, “I can introduce you to the one that’s left sometime. You’d get along with him.”

Fox winces, she’d forgotten that his Sensei was gone, it’s not a far stretch to assume others of his genin team had also died. Still, she nods a little, “I’d like that.”

Hyena is silent for awhile before he says in the calmest, most even voice she’s ever heard from him in or out of the mask, “I was a little kid when the last war ended. A lot of people died. Most of the orphans were war orphans even after the Kyuubi attack and there where funerals with empty coffins nearly every week until the war ended. Academy history really doesn’t do it credit and I really fucking doubt Hatake was willing to tell you war stories. I’m just saying, this is being called war preparations for a reason. This is going to get bad, Foxy, not everyone is going to make it through.”

“I know,” Fox answers back just as calmly, the nerves, the cold understanding that this is real, will hit her eventually, but right now, there’s just an odd calmness. 

“Good, I just wanted to make sure, ‘cause this,” he waves a hand in the air in a circle, “Is about as good as its gonna get for a long time.”

Fox is silent for a long time and remembers what he father told her so long ago, the morning after the Uchiha massacre and finally echoes his words, “We’re shinobi, we’ll endure it.”

Neither of them speak again for a long time. There’s not much else to say, really. They’re going to war. Twenty years of peacetime is coming to an end. An entire generation of shinobi is about to be thrown head first into the realities of just how brutal their world can be. All because of Zetsu and his scheming and Uchiha Obito and his hatred. Fox isn’t sure it’s possible to really be ready for this. She thinks of what Hyena said about funerals. She’s not sure she’s ready to attend the funeral of any of her friends, much less more than one. 


	13. Chapter 13

Kiri falls in a line by the end of the first week with the simple reasoning of being unable to find a point of contention that Tsunade couldn’t provide a rebuttal to. Fox can practically feel the tension winding out of the Konoha delegation while the tension in Kumo and Iwa seems to go up. Kumo is close to agreeing, according to Scorpion, the work of Jiraiya and Naruto on a possible alliance in be past few months is paying off, slowly, but steadily. Iwa is running out of arguments against it too. According to Scorpion, it will be only another day or so before Kumo and Iwa both join. Then the business of actually organizing the whole mess begins. 

That’s not what Fox is worried about now though. Lady Tsunade has summoned her to her temporary office here and Fox just knows that’s not a good sign. She’s positive she hasn’t broken any protocol and that Hyena and Dog haven’t either, as thin of ice as their bickering might put them on. Her first thought is that someone’s dead. She doesn’t have any blood family left though so there’d be no reason to tell her something like that now. Her next thought is that Sasuke has done some dumb shit again... somehow. 

Fox only needs to take one look at the serious, unhappy, almost regretful look on Tsunade’s face to know that’s not the case. Jiraiya, Ibiki, Shizune and Shikaku are all in the room too. And not a single one looks happy. Fox feels like someone is walking over her grave. Like she’s about to go see her parents one more time. Fox doesn’t let her fear show, she’s a shinobi, a jounin, an ANBU. She’s her father’s daughter and this is a mission. She makes sure her body language gives nothing away, “Lady Tsunade.”

“Take the mask off, Ishihara,” Tsunade’s tone is a strange cross between angry and remorseful and calculating. Fox’s bad feeling only grows. Still, she complies and the mask comes off, and for a moment she’s Katsumi again or at least she’s supposed to be. She still feels like Fox. Still wants to be Fox, because after so long, she’s not sure how to not be Fox anymore. 

Still, she’s Katsumi without her mask on and it’s Katsumi that asks warily, “Lady Tsunade?”

Tsunade’s lips are pursed tight before she speaks, “There was a security breach, we’ve just received word of it, Yakushi Kabuto is confirmed to have gained access to classified files, including yours.”

Katsumi knows immediately she’s not talking about her mission files or medical files or psych evaluations or anything else so small. She wouldn’t be called in here so late at night with Scorpion’s team sent away for that. Shikaku and Jiraiya and Ibiki wouldn’t be in here if they were. She’s not stupid, she knows exactly what Tsunade is referring to and it makes her entire body cold. Katsumi wants desperately to disappear back behind her mask, but she can’t, so she swallows and says simply, “The secret’s out.”

Jiraiya is the one that answers her, “I’ve already sent word to my network, kid. They’re putting out all sorts of different stories as we speak, by this time next week, no one is going to know for sure what’s true and what isn’t.”

Katsumi’s not at all comforted by that, Shinobi are good at figuring out what’s true and what isn’t. Conflicting information will only work for so long, still, he’s the spymaster, if he thinks it will help, she has to hope he’s right. Her eyes track over everyone in front of her and she nods, “So Yakushi’s spreading the information? You wouldn’t be doing that if not.”

Tsunade has her fingers laced together again, the way Katsumi’s come to recognize as a habit she has when she’s speaking to someone and doesn’t feel the need to throw a desk at the person or at least is working not to, “There’s rumors. Spreading rapidly. Jiraiya’s network won’t keep the truth from the real threats, but it will keep the more manageable threats at bay for a time.”

Manageable threats. Katsumi isn’t sure what the fuck that entails considering the level of insane information she holds in her head makes her an extremely valuable target to anyone with half a brain. Her mouth feels dry and her heartis beginning to pound out of her chest, “How much is out?”

“Enough that you aren’t safe anymore, not even as Fox for much longer,” Shikaku’s voice is carefully controlled, but she grew up with him, he’s a second father to her, she knows what it sounds like when he’s worried for her. She knows how much he wanted her secret to stay secret and how hard he tried to make that so. She knows it’s not often a wrench is thrown in his plans like this, but she also knows this was an eventuality that’s likely been prepared for for years, though that’s not enough to calm her. 

Katsumi fights not to bare her teeth at her Hokage in distress. She knows no one can really tell when she does it if it’s out of fear or aggression, except Kakashi and the Inuzuka, they always know. She’s pretty sure it’s rude to bare her teeth at the Hokage, anyway. She doesn’t say what she’s thinking, that she’s a shinobi, and by the very nature of that fact, she’s never really been _safe._ This just cements that truth. Ibiki speaks before she can voice that, “Ishihara, This is being dealt with. We kept your files spread out throughout the village. He only managed to take one of your files. Nothing else.”

Katsumi’s shoulder throbs with dull pain where the Oto nin’s arrow once impaled her, as if her sudden stress and nervousness needs to physically remind her of how thin the line between safety and danger really is for her. She doesn’t rub the spot where that faded, circular scar is though, just says in a voice that sounds distant and strange and near hysterical even to her, “If Kakashi finds out I knew about Uchiha Obito before now, he’s going to kill me.”

It’s an irrational thought, she knows it is. She says it anyway because all she can think about is how close to the edge Dog’s been since finding out. How far Hyena’s been pushing him. She thinks of how, when Crane first used the deepest fear genjutsu on her, she’d seen Kakashi, hateful and furious and betrayed because she knew the truth and hid it from him. She’d hoped, maybe naively, that he’d never know she’d known. That her involvement in everything would be kept tucked away in the shadows forever. If Kakashi learns she knew, for years, and never said a word, looked him in the eye and kept silent? She’s not sure he’ll ever forgive her for it. 

Tsunade sighs, “You know he won’t do that. None of your comrades would. We could give you a new mask and codename and hide you behind that, we considered it seriously, but you’d never be able to leave ANBU, and Inoichi has already confirmed that your full time, extended stay in ANBU is steadily deteriorating your mental state. Right now, the leak hasn’t reached the summit except for those of us in this room. For now, you’re going to continue as you have been. When we return to the village, you’ll be returned to General forces and Part time in ANBU, we’d planned already to let you go back to general forces after the summit, anyway. In the village, aside from Hyena, we’re placing a full guard on you at all times except for in ANBU HQ. If we weren’t about to go to war, if we didn’t need every able shinobi, we’d be sending you off with Jiraiya like we did Naruto to keep you a moving target. As it is, we can’t do that now. Do you understand, Ishihara?”

Katsumi understands there’s a limited amount of options here. That the current circumstances are limiting what can be done. The secret is already out, Jiraiya’s damage control can only do so much and they can’t keep her safe. Katsumi understands perfectly well, “Yes, Lady Hokage.”

Tsunade unlaces her fingers and taps them against the desk, “This is an unfortunate situation, but not one we didn’t take into consideration. We’ve had contingency plans in place for years for if this situation occurred. We just need you to do what we ask you to and we’ll handle the rest.”

Katsumi nods a little and her hand tights on the mask she wants so badly to hide behind. A mask that won’t protect her anymore. She’s like Kakashi now, she thinks somewhat hysterically, her mask is just a formality like Dog is just a formality. Everyone knows he’s Dog, now everyone will know she’s Fox and that she knows far too many secrets to be left in peace. Her eyes flick to Ibiki warily, “Does this mean I need to go through interrogation resistance training again?”

Ibiki inclines his head, “With an emphasis on escaping the situation this time.”

She wants to laugh, wants to throw her head back and laugh at the absolutely absurdity of the situation. She’d cry out of sheer stress, but she’s not home, she’s not in the village and Shinobi aren’t allowed to cry. She wants to run and hide or just keep running until her legs give out and she’s thousands of kilometers away from here. Instead, she just runs her tongue over the points of her teeth and bows to her Hokage, “Is there anything else?”

Tsunade doesn’t get pissed at her for her rudeness, for once. The woman isn’t an idiot, Katsumi’s willing to bet she can tell how close to a meltdown Katsumi is. Instead, the woman just raises an eyebrow, “We’ll discuss final plans for what we’re doing when it’s closer to when we go back. You can put your mask back on. You can go.”

Katsumi’s never put her mask on so fast. Never fled a meeting so quickly either. Even as Fox she’s hyperventilating and high strung and fighting not to lose her absolute shit in the Summit meeting building. She makes it back to the ANBU quarters and goes straight to the bathroom, locking the door and turning on the shower to somewhat cover the sounds of her vomiting into the toilet when she drops to her knees and hastily discards her mask. She’s sweating and shaking on the bathroom tiles even as the retching subsides. She’d been an idiot to think she’d never be found out. An idiot to think her secrets would stay secrets. Kabuto raised the dead in her old memories on Obito’s orders. She has a feeling this is Obito’s way of hurting her without touching her. She knows he’s been aiming for her since they fought and hasn’t been able to touch her. Hasn’t been able to make her bleed yet. Now he’s gotten information and painted a target on her back if he’s working with Kabuto in this life. 

Fox doesn’t respond to Hyena calling her name or Dog ordering her to come out. She doesn’t move from her spot on by the toliet. Just has her fucking meltdown as she tries to accept the fact she’s more fucked now then she ever has been before. That she should probably update the will that every shinobi is required to have once they reach Chuunin level. Fox doesn’t notice when she starts laughing, the same wild, broken laugh that’s happens whenever she knows she’s fucked and can’t do anything about it. She doesn’t notice when Hyena picks the lock and kneels beside her. She just keeps laughing and shaking as he and Dog both try to get her to calm down. She’d feel bad about worrying her team, but she’s so beyond fucked that she can’t bring herself to give a damn.


	14. Chapter 14

Fox doesn’t explain to Hyena or Dog why she had a meltdown. Doesn’t give them a single explanation about it. She’s pretty sure they’re assuming it was a freak out over the whole war thing. Which she doesn’t correct. They’ll find out soon enough, once the rumors make it to the Summit or they make it home to the village. Whichever comes first. Hyena gets called in by Lady Hokage a few hours after her and she knows he’s being briefed on the situation since, officially, he’s her bodyguard despite the fact she’s a Jounin and an ANBU. 

When he comes back, Dog is out speaking to Scorpion about something and Hyena stares down at her with his head cocked to the side for awhile. They stare each other down before he giggles a little and pats her on the head, “Could be worse, Foxy.”

And that’s all he says on the matter. Doesn’t treat her any differently than before. He stops picking at Dog though. Like he knows there’s no pointing pushing the man’s buttons when he’s about to get hit in the head with another unpleasant fact as soon as the leak makes it to him. Fox isn’t sure if he stops for Dog’s sake or hers. But she doesn’t really care either. So long as the tension doesn’t keep increasing on this mission, she really could not give less of a damn why. She has too many other worries. 

Dog reacts to her panic attack the way he did when he heard about her first assassination. By summoning his pack and having her summon hers and enforcing an oversized puppy pile for her when they’re in the ANBU quarters. She thinks it’s his only healthy way of coping with problems. Other than that, he keeps his distance. Though he tells her he’ll teach her a new jutsu when they return to the village if it would help her feel better about the coming days, something she appreciates for all he doesn’t know the real reason she’s suddenly a withdrawn bundle of nerves. It’s the closest to her Kakashi he’s been in a long time. She wonders how long it will last once things start getting back to him. 

The alliance is made as well when Iwa is finally satisfied enough or backed into enough of a corner to agree. And the start of even more talks begin. Talks about strategy and how to merge armies and how best to divide the shinobi up. Since, for the foreseeable future, the five great hidden villages are one big, unhappy, dysfunctional family. Fox is oddly numb to the whole thing, listening to and watching the proceedings with something that’s not quite apathy, but close. She finds she doesn’t give a damn how things are brought to an end, so long as they are. 

Kumo is the one to suggest getting the samurai involved. Or trying anyway. The more numbers the better and their use of chakra is much different from a Shinobi’s use. They’re all trained sensors. If any one could potentially find the Zetsu clones, surely a Samurai could, is the argument. The problem with samurai, though, is that they really cannot stand Shinobi. Everyone knows that. Shinobi are everything Samurai hate. Honorless and utterly unrepentant about it. The fact they’re willing to allow Kage summits to be held in their land is enough of a miracle. Everyone knows it’s in part to keep an eye on their more hotheaded and often untrustworthy neighbors. Fox thinks of that samurai she’d left for dead so long ago and wonders hysterically if he’s rolling in his grave at the very thought of samurai working with Shinobi. 

The biggest debate is over the jinchuuriki. Uchiha Obito has probably, according to Naruto anyway, had enough time to figure out how to undo the seal Naruto had made. Which means the jinchuuriki aren’t safe anymore. There’s a debate over whether to hide them or use them. A debate over if they’re safe to have around the other shinobi. In past wars, jinchuuriki had, when they’d lost control over their beasts, killed as many on their own sides as their enemies. It’s part of why they’re so feared, despite it not being their fault. Two of them are nukenin, as far as anyone is aware, Kiri’s never managed to recapture the three tailed beast and their remaining jinchuuriki refuses to fight as far as anyone can tell. Then one belongs to fucking Kusa of all places, it’s probably the only reason the minor hidden village has survived so long despite its unfortunate position between Iwa and Konoha. It’s a huge debate over what to do about any of those situations. No one can make any decisions over the jinchuuriki, except for Gaara who says firmly that he will be fighting no matter the opinions of the other Kage. No one is stupid enough to contradict the youngest of the Kage. 

Fox watches all of this distantly as the days pass. When the leak finally reaches the other Kages, Fox knows before anyone says anything. Zabuza’s eyes go to her one too many times as the proceeding go forward halfway through the second week. Clearly, they’ve heard or Haku has figured out who’s behind the Fox mask and told him. Fox doesn’t twitch at that. She does twitch, just a little, when Mei leans forward, eyes a bit too sharp and bright as they fix on Tsunade and purrs, “I’ve heard some interesting things, Lady Hokage. I’ve wondered why you’re so protective over a girl with so much Kiri blood in her, I suppose I know why now.”

Tsunade doesn’t show a single emotion on her face as she answers, “I’m sure you hear a lot of things. I’d advise you take gossip with a grain of salt.”

Mei’s lips twitch into a smile that reminds fox of a shark, “Of course, I would like to make a suggestion, however.”

Tsunade’s teeth audibly grind, or at least audibly to Fox, “What suggestion?”

“Hide her within my forces. She wouldn’t stand out there,” Lady Mizukage says it delicately, like she’s testing Tsunade’s reaction. Fox stands perfectly still and hopes like hell the woman is just feeling out how much she can get away with without inciting Tsunade’s well known wrath. Fox doesn’t exactly appreciate being drawn into whatever political game the Mizukage is trying to play. 

Lady Tsunade’s face is stone as she replies in the coldest voice Fox has ever heard from the woman, “My forces will be distributed the same way everyone else’s will. By where they’d be most useful, Lady Mizukage.”

Lady Mizukage just raises one shoulder in the most elegant shrug Fox has seen outside of nobility, “Of course. Though, if you change your mind...”

“Your suggestion is appreciated,” Lady Hokage says flatly. 

The other Kage watch the two with looks somewhere between confused and annoyed, except for Gaara who watches with the same calm, impassiveness he watches everything else with. Fox supposes Kiri is either the first to know, or the only one willing to openly try anything with it for now. Though Fox isn’t sure what Lady Mizukage’s goal is. The alliance should keep the other villages at bay for now, that much Fox is willing to bet on. 

Fox can practically feel Dog staring at her. There’s only one Konoha shinobi that fits the criteria Lady Mizukage laid out, after all. Kisame isn’t a woman for all he’s pure Kiri. It doesn’t help that Suigetsu is grinning like a mad man at everyone from behind Mei. He looks thrilled by the entire situation and Fox idly wishes she’d killed him when she had the chance. Maybe Zabuza will get sick of the white haired idiot and do everyone a favor. 

Dog pulls her aside, out into the hallway, away from Hyena, when their shift ends, “Why is the Mizukage asking about you? What rumors?”

Fox is practically conditioned to lie about what she knows. Or at least hiss that it’s classified. This time, she just cocks her head to the side and looks up at the painted mask that’s never been able to hide the glow of one forever spinning sharingan, “Don’t know any rumors, Taichou. Kiri’s always been interested in me, though. Don’t you remember Wave country? I do.”

Dog’s hand is gripping her forearm and she can feel it tighten a little at the reminder of Zabuza’s overt interest and subsequent temporary kidnapping, “Are you compromised, Fox?”

So he noticed Zabuza glancing at her. She shrugs and jerks her arm enough that he lets her go, “Like Sensei, like student, I suppose.”

Dog makes a noise not unlike Fox’s own snarls, “How?”

Fox isn’t sure how to answer that, just shrugs again and flippantly says, “Maybe it has something to do with the fact I was a guest of Kiri for three weeks and for one of those I was in a coma. Not like I could hid the tattoo then.”

Everyone knows it’s those tattoos are a risky thing. Used to by operatives to identify each other even out of mask, every village has their own version of it. Technically, it’s okay if people see it, since it doesn’t give away which mask a person is, but no one likes doing that. ANBU don’t like anyone except other ANBU knowing who they are. It’s a summoning seal that’s passed off as nothing more than a tattoo. The Hokage can use it to order any ANBU to her and the ANBU heads can use it to get an operative to HQ. Fox has never been a fan of the way it makes her feel like she has a sunburn when it’s used. The downside to it is that if enemy shinobi see it, they have a good reason to guess a person knows valuable information or is a valuable hostage, despite the fact ANBU that rescue and recovery can’t get viably get to are often left for dead. 

Dog is silent for a moment, before saying, in a voice somewhere between resigned and annoyed, but not disappointed or angry, “You’re a better liar than I remember, I’ll give you that.”

That makes Fox want to laugh. She’s been lying to him for years. Lying to everyone. He has no fucking idea how good a liar she really is. It’s going to be a rude wake up call when he finds out. Fox is dreading that wholeheartedly. 

They return to Hyena and Fox pretends she can’t feel Dog’s eyes tracking her every movement. This Summit has been possibly the worst time she’s ever had on a mission. She would take the three month assassination mess over this. She doesn’t get why it’s considered an honor by ANBU operatives to get to go to one. Rare or not, Summits are awful is her conclusion. She just has to keep pretending she’s not half a step away from losing her shit again and get through this mess without breaking protocol. She can do that. She has to be able to do that, as much as it exhausts her and as much as she doesn’t want to be here. Just a little longer and she can go home and hide somewhere. 


	15. Chapter 15

Things are quiet as the Summit passes into its final week. Fox is as on edge as ever and Tsunade continually has to shut down inquiries as the other villages come to hear about the leak. Fox can feel eyes drift to her more and more each time she’s on duty and it makes her teeth stay bared behind her mask at almost all times. It’s only Hyena signing subtly at her to relax from his position on the opposite wall occasionally that keeps her from growling the whole time. As it is, Fox feels like she’s going to crawl out of her skin if the Summit doesn’t end soon. 

It does end. Thankfully. Just in no way that’s good. At least it gets everyone on board more completely than before. Fox supposes that’s something. Uchiha Obito appearing out of nowhere in the center of the meeting room like he’s the king of the fucking universe is an extremely efficient way to shut every single Kage up at once. Really, Fox would be impressed if she wasn’t so stressed out already. As it is, She just drags every drop of water in the air to her on instinct as primes for a water shrapnel jutsu if he gets too close to her. 

No one says anything for a moment. Fox thinks the shock of his blatant disregard towards the utter strength five Kages together possess is the equivalent of hitting everyone over the head with a hammer. Fox doesn’t take her eyes off the intruder to see what anyone else is doing. She’s not sure if he learned his lesson about trying to take people into his dimension, but she’s not keen on finding out. 

He’s still wearing that stupid orange mask and looking around like he’s taking it in. The stupid, childish giggle he lets out makes her hair stand on end. He’s using the stupid fucking voice he did the last time she saw him when he does speak, “A party? Without Tobi? But Tobi loves parties!”

Tsunade is on her feet and her hand is curled into a fist while she snarls at him, “Enough with the games, Uchiha. You’re not fooling anyone.”

Fox watches as Itachi shifts behind her, he’s on orders not to use his sharigan again until they’ve switched his eyes with Sasuke’s. He’s here strictly as a show of strength. Fox knows he knows that. Fox hopes he doesn’t throw orders to the wind. If Dog can hold his shit together right now, Itachi definitely can. 

Shikaku’s shadow begins to twist dangerously as Obito giggles a little higher pitched, “What? Lady Tsunade! Don’t you know it’s rude not to invite me to a party for me?”

It’s Lord Tsuchikage that speaks next, “You think us fools, boy? You think we’re something to laugh at? You should have stayed in your little bolt hole!”

Mei’s lips curve into a smile that’s sharper than any knife, “I agree. Though, this certainly fits him, doesn’t it? A little boy seeking attention. It seems he never quite grew up. What was the dead girl’s name again? Rin? Tell me, Uchiha, when she died, was that the end of your emotional development?”

Fox tenses when she feels Uchiha’s killing intent begin to flood the room. Every single ANBU in the room from every village begins to leak their own killing intent in response, but none make a move without clear order from their Kages. The air is thick with Killing intent from nearly everyone in the room. Even Naruto is letting his rare killing intent out. Fox can’t recall a time she’s ever felt it from him. 

Obito tilts his head in a way that’s anything but comical, it’s the way her ninken look at something they might like to hunt, the way Hyena’s head tilts before he decides to fry someone’s brain. Fox bares her teeth behind her mask and snarls, the sound reverberating deep in her chest. Obito doesn’t glance over at her though, she vaguely remembers that mentioning Rin had earned her his full focus, and it seems it’s done the same for Mei. When he speaks again, it’s his real voice, deep and menacing, “Ah, Terumi Mei, the hat suits you better than it did your predecessor. A shame you won’t be wearing it much longer.”

Zabuza’s hand wraps around the handle of kubikiribōchō threateningly as Mei’s smile grows impossibly sharp, “There he is. We all know you, little boy, no need to hide anymore.”

Obito’s focus is entirely on the Mizukage now. Which is good, because behind him, the Tsuchikage is forming the hand seals for the particle jutsu he’s famous for. Fox doubts it will work, but she likes to think she’s due for a pleasant surprise for once in her life. Obito sounds almost amused when he responds, “I’m not hiding, Lady Mizukage. You all want me, well, here I am.”

A moment later a grayish cube-like structure leaves the Tsuchikage’s hands to go straight for the Uchiha, growing larger as it approaches him. For one wild moment, it looks like it’s actually going to work. Uchiha disappears a split second before he’s caught in it and reappears standing on top of one of the tables, “You’ll need to try harder than that, old man. You’re planning for a war, so I’ll give you one. The fourth shinobi war begins now.”

There’s a tense silence as everyone processes what the man said, before he appears again directly in front of Fox and is voice is soft enough that she knows what he’s saying is just for her and smooth as silk as he speaks one last time, “And you, little girl, I expect to see you front and center.”

Fox is still as a stone and fully expects him to try to drag her into his dimension again. He seems to have learned his lesson though and goes without making the attempt. Not without putting a kunai in the chest of the Kumo operative directly across from Fox though. There’s a short, stunned moment of silence before Tsunade is on her knees beside the Kumo operative and her hands are glowing the soft green of iryoninjutsu. If it were any other medic, Fox would think it’s a wasted effort because that Kunai hit just to the left of the center of the Kumo operative’s chest, a perfect heart shot. It’s Tsunade though, and that alone makes Fox willing to bet on the man’s survival. 

The Raikage’s voice is booming through the room as he slams his hands on the desk in front of him, “Gather your shinobi. If this whelp thinks he can stand against us, he’s mistaken.”

Gaara’s arms are across his chest as he stands as well, his brother and sister on either side of him, “He acts the fool, but he’s deliberately trying to antagonize us into impulsive action. We must not give him that.”

Tsunade doesn’t say a word as she works to save the Kumo operative. Fox wonders if she’s helping him as a political point or because she’s a medic and that’s what the man needs. Fox has spent too long at the summit, listening to the Kages speak with silver, poisoned tongues and dance around each other. The past three weeks have been a crash course in politics that Fox never wanted. It makes her question everything they do and search for different angles. It’s been a good distraction from her more stressful concerns. 

“I motion to end the summit here,” The Raikage snarls. 

Lady Mizukage’s eyes cut to Gaara and then Lady Tsunade before she inclines her head, “The time for talking is over, I second the motion.”

Lady Tsunade makes a noise as she sits back and the green of her iryoninjutsu fades away, “Very well. Motion passed.”

And just like that, the summit is over. Fox doesn’t know if that’s a relief for her or not. But when she looks over at Dog to see the faint glow of his sharingan is fixed on her, she thinks she’d prefer it if the summit went on a little longer. Protocol is a wonderful thing that keeps emotional and high strung shinobi from having a fit, after all. It’s a shame that goes away once the mission is officially over. Fox thinks she’s going to need to hide from Dog for awhile. She’s not ready for the conversation she knows is coming, especially after the moment of attention Uchiha gave her. She’s so sick of Uchihas. 


	16. Chapter 16

Fox hides in her room in ANBU HQ for a full day before Hyena manages to swipe the master key from where it’s supposed to be kept and lets himself in her room and sits down in front of her on her bed, calm as can be. Fox snarls wordlessly at the intrusion and pulls her knees up to her chest as she leans against the wall. 

“Fox, it’s time to take the mask off, you know that,” Hyena removes his own mask as he speaks and his purple eyes track every movement she makes. 

“No,” She says it flatly, completely detached. With everything that’s happened and will happen and how long she’s been wearing her mask, she doesn’t want to take it off. Doesn’t want to stop being Fox because that means facing it as Katsumi and she doesn’t want that. 

Yuma doesn’t accept that though, just says calmly, “You’re not Fox. You’re Ishihara Katsumi and a jounin of Konoha and it’s time to go home.”

She snarls, “Says who?”

“Says The Hokage, Says Inoichi, Says Beetle. Says me. It’s time to take the mask off,” His facial expressions are carefully controlled so if he’s annoyed she can’t tell. 

“I don’t want to,” She borderline whines. 

“We’re shinobi, we do plenty of things we don’t want to do. This is no different,” Yuma’s voice is firm. 

“It is,” She hisses it. 

“How? Because now people know you have secrets? Every shinobi that’s more than a rookie genin has secrets. Every. Single. One. We all have them. Secrets we keep to protect our friends. Our families. Our teams. Our missions. The village. Ourselves. There’s ten thousand secrets in this village, Fox, all kept in the heads of your comrades. Things we only tell the Yamanaka’s or the Hokage or no one at all. Things we’ll take to the grave. Shinobi keep secrets. With as many as you’ve been keeping, one or two were bound to slip out eventually,” Yuma tells her this like he’s talking about the weather or how to properly polish and sharpen a kunai. Like it’s basic and obvious yet still important. 

“I know that,” She mumbles it, feeling like a chastised academy student. 

“Then fucking own it. You’re a shinobi. A damn good one. You’re a Jounin. Every secret you’ve ever kept has been in service of this village. Our comrades will get that. Because they’re doing the exact same thing. And the civilians? Foxy, we are shinobi, we don’t worry about their opinions on shinobi matters. As for threats? Since when have you flinched from a fight?” Yuma gets a little more forceful and leans forward to rest his elbows on his knees. His eyes are still tracking every single movement she’s making, no matter how small. 

“Dog, though,” Fox waves one hand in the air dramatically. 

“What about him? He understands secrets too. The Sage knows he’s got a lifetime’s worth of them. If it’s about the Uchiha thing? He’s emotionally fucked over that. It’s a wound that never really healed. One he never really let heal. And now it’s infected. This mess is just rubbing salt into it. When he works out his shit, he’ll get it. Faster if he ever lets the Yamanaka’s help him,” Yuma mutters the last bit under his breathe like he’s irritated personally at the fact Kakashi has managed to be the hardest patient anyone ever has had to deal with. 

Fox glances away from Yuma to stare at the wall, “What are the rumors?”

“You want the good or the bad?” Yuma asks immediately, “There’s a lot and at this point, the truth is pretty well hidden in the lies.”

Fox runs her tongue over her teeth and says, “What’s the worst?”

“People are saying you knew about the Pein invasion before it happened and didn’t warn anyone. Mostly it’s civilians saying that, they always latch on to the worse rumors about shinobi. You know that. A few think you’re a Kiri spy, the fact you’re in ANBU apparently somehow makes that more believable. Don’t ask me how,” Yuma rubs the stubble on his jaw and shrugs. 

Fox doesn’t know what to say to that, but if that’s the worst, it’s not quite as bad as she thought. She supposes Jiraiya’s network is to thank for that. She’s not sure why she was expecting rumors to be word for word recitation of whatever file it was, but she feels like an idiot for that. Still doesn’t want to be Katsumi yet, though. Would rather not face that and all her other issues as anything other than Fox. At least as Fox, any reactions she has, any feeling she has, are hidden behind the painted smile of her mask. 

Yuma doesn’t let her silence go on too long, says calmly, “Akiko-chan needs her Kenjutsu Sensei to teach her. Fox can’t do it. Katsumi has to.”

She twitches at the mention of the tiny Nara girl. She won’t admit it, but she’s missed teaching the curious child and genuinely wants to see if she’s kept up with the training regime she has Shikaku pass to her. The girl is probably going to pissed at her for being away so long. Four months? Five? Fox isn’t even sure anymore how long she’s been in the mask. Too long is probably the safe answer. She sighs, “Akiko-Chan is going to have my head for being gone so long. You know she graduates in a year and a half if I’m timing it right?”

“And she’s going to be over prepared for genin if you keep teaching her. So if you won’t take the mask off for anyone else, can you at least do it so Akiko-Chan doesn’t storm the Hokage’s office and demand her sensei back?” Yuma jokes with a half grin. 

“Surprised she hasn’t yet,” Fox mutters, but stands up from her bed and gathers the things she wants with at home. 

“She barricaded herself in Shikaku’s office until he agreed to a meeting with her. Our jounin commander had to bend to the will of an academy student to get his office back. Owl told me before the summit,” Yuma shrugs and stands up like he didn’t just tell her that Akiko decided to take over the fucking jounin commander’s office. Sage, she’s never going to hear the end of that from Shikaku. At least she’s not Akiko’s official Sensei or she’d probably have paperwork to do for that incident. 

“How’d she do that?” Fox isn’t sure she wants the answer. 

“Got an Inuzuka student to help her apparently. Owl won’t tell me the details, so I’m planning a way to change his mind,” Yuma slips his mask back on and holds her door open, “Time for Foxy to go back to her den.”

Fox reluctantly trails after him through the hallways to the back exit. He pauses as they reach the outside, “If you’d prefer, Foxy can henge into a random person. Less chance of talking to people. After you take the mask off.”

Fox pauses but obeys. Swallowing her uneasy as she takes her mask off and hooks it to her belt loop. Katsumi’s the one who henges into an unassuming civilian girl with dull brown hair and muddy brown eyes. Yuma just henges into his Jounin uniform and grins, “See? You didn’t burst into flames by taking the mask off. It’ll be fine.”

She just scowls at him as they use the roof tops to cross the village and head towards her house. When they arrive, She’s pleased, in a tired, distant way, to see her poison garden is still alive. She figures Ino or Sai probably kept that alive. She disables the traps and almost immediately is overtaken with the urge to clean. There’s a lot of dust, tons of it, and the air is stale. She can’t stand that. The sound of her wind chimes ringing is calming though. It’s nice, having something again that declares she’s safe. 

“Go change. I’ll get you some groceries. Your guards will be here soon. You won’t see them, but I’m sure you’ll pinpoint them quick enough,” Yuma gives her a bright grin and his purple eyes shine mischievously.

Katsumi manages a weak laugh as she drops the henge, “Hard to miss heart beats following me around.”

Yuma grins at her, “Exactly. Get out of that uniform. Try to relax. Inoichi told me to tell you, he expects you in his office tomorrow morning for a session, no excuses.”

Katsumi sighs and she pushes the beaded curtain to her hallway out of her way, “Probably need a Yamanaka’s help anyway.”

Yuma’s laughter follows her to her bedroom as she walks. Being home feels odd. Being Katsumi feels odder. Like she’s playing pretend. When she looks at herself in the mirror in her bedroom, she doesn’t recognize the empty green eyes staring back at her or the thin, pointed face they’re set in. She prefers the mask, she decides. She knows that face better than this one. Inoichi is going to have a fucking field day when she tells him that. 


	17. Chapter 17

Therapy with Inoichi is nothing like her psych evaluations or when they’re reviewing her old memories. It’s almost casual. She gets to fiddle with random things in his office, she can wander around, he even has puzzles she can put together while they speak. He lets her talk about just anything she wants, with only a gentle nudge occasionally towards a certain topic he thinks she needs to discuss. There’s been entire sessions where she’s barely spoken, but he allows that for the most part. They don’t happen often, so as far as she can tell, Inoichi is willing to let her have her silent days. 

Today, Inoichi sits with a leg resting on his knee and watches her with a calm expression as she paces the short length of his office, pausing only to look at a book or a picture as she does. He breaks the short silence with a patient, lightly spoken question that has nothing to do with her issues, “How are your flowers? Ino mentioned she’s been taking care of your garden while you’ve been busy.”

Busy. She supposes that’s what she’s been. She makes Katsumi’s mouth turn into a smile, an up tilt at the corners of her mouth and a flash of pointed teeth, “They’re very pretty and healthy. Probably going to try making a paralytic with some soon.”

Inoichi’s pupil-less eyes watch her as she picks up a tiny statue of a bird in flight, “Using Genma’s formulas?”

She thinks of a flashing senbon and the click of teeth on metal and a perpetually tired face and ever steady heartbeat and painted Scorpion mask and the smell of herbs, “Yes. He made Katsumi practice after the datura incident.”

Inoichi’s eyes narrow for just a moment and just a fraction, “He made you do that? That’s good, Katsumi, do you enjoy it?”

She blinks down at the little bird statue in her hands as she turns it over. She thinks of a slow, patient voice reminding her how to properly prepare a poison. How to clean the equipment. Reminding her to clearly mark what equipment she uses for it and the flash of white teeth around a thin piece of metal when it was done correctly. Like when Katsumi was a child. She answers slowly, “We need to know those things.”

“Who is we? Not every shinobi bothers to use poisons, much less make them,” Inoichi points out. 

She considers that and doesn’t answer his question, “Poisons aren’t a favorite.”

“They take patience and precision in most cases. Most don’t have that, Katsumi,” Inoichi agrees easily. 

“Stop calling me that,” She doesn’t want to be Katsumi. Isn’t interested in that name or the face that owns it. 

“Why not? It’s your name,” Inoichi questions, “Is there a name you want to be called instead?”

“No,” She makes Katsumi’s lips peel back in snarl and she sets the statue back down exactly how it had been positioned before. 

“Is there a reason you don’t want me to call you by name?” Inoichi’s voice never changes and he’s utterly unfazed by the snarl. Used to it from being her therapist and handler for fucking years. 

“Don’t want to be Katsumi now,” She wants Fox back. Fox is steady. Fox exists for missions and those are straightforward. There’s nothing to complicate that. There’s not question of a right and wrong. It’s get in and get it done and get back out alive. Fox obeys orders and Fox wins every fight and Fox doesn’t stand in the sunlight. Fox is shadows and masks and as much a ghost as a person. She likes that. 

“Why not?” Inoichi sounds idly curious. As if he doesn’t really care what the answer is. She doubts that’s true. 

“It’s too much,” She admits it easily. Because it is too much. Too many connections. Too much care. Too much love and too much damage. Too many frayed and strained bonds and too many ways for her to break those bonds without wanting to. Too much exhaustion and fear and stress. It makes her want to run. 

“Too much?” 

She tips her head in a shallow nod, “Yes.”

“Let’s discuss that. Is it becoming harder for you to compartmentalize or is it that you feel your life as Katsumi is more complicated than you’re comfortable with?” Inoichi’s voice is soothing as he asks her questions that make her want to snarl louder. 

“I don’t know Katsumi anymore,” She says the first thing she thinks of. Tells him how she felt seeing Katsumi’s face in the mirror. A stranger. That’s who the face belonged to. 

Inoichi nods a little and stands up, “Let’s work on that then. Help you know her again.”

She watches quietly as he goes to the closet a pulls out a full length mirror and leans it against the wall, “You’re not the first ANBU operative to develop this problem. It’s rather common, actually. Most have varying degrees of trouble with it. I’d like you to stand— or sit, if you’d prefer— in front of the mirror. Get used to what Katsumi looks like again while we talk about who you are out of the mask.”

“Do I have to?” She eyes the mirror like its one of her otters. Like its Urami and he’s just done something unnerving. 

“I think it will help. If you’d like, I can take you through a mind walk afterwards,” Inoichi offers. 

“We could skip the mirror, do the mind walk?” She suggests hopefully. 

“The mind walk works best in therapy after we’ve spoken. You know that,” Inoichi doesn’t chide her, no matter how the words sound. She knows he’s just reminding her how this works. How it things work best. 

With a sigh she drags the chair across from his to sit in front of the mirror and takes a seat. She looks at her shoes in the mirror. The dark blue sandals she always wears. Standard shinobi issue. Identical to the shoes every shinobi wore outside of infiltrations. Designed for comfortably traveling miles and miles without problems. Combined with the way every shinobi bandages their feet and ankles, it’s would take a freak accident or a nasty jutsu for a shinobi to injure their feet air ankles. Mobility is a necessity after all. 

“What does Katsumi do in her free time?” Inoichi asks.

“She likes the onsen,” She offers. 

Inoichi nods, “Why?”

“She likes water. And Sakura and Ino are her friends,” She thinks of pink hair and a loud voice and a sharp intelligence. She thinks of long blonde hair and a bubbly personality and an understanding ear. 

“Please look at your face, not your shoes. And what else does Katsumi do in her free time?” Inoichi is standing beside the mirror watching her. 

“Shogi when there’s someone to play against,” She forces her gaze to her face and studies it reluctantly. Green eyes and eyebrows that need waxing— something Ino likes to do to her. A small nose. An old, faded burn scar under her eye. The dark bags under her eyes are new. She knows that. She looks pale. Her face has seen far less sun than the rest of her. It’s noticeable. Her teeth stay tucked behind her lips. Lips that have places it’s clear she’s torn open on her teeth’s edges before.

“What kind of shinobi is Ishihara Katsumi?” Inoichi sounds like he’s asking about the weather. 

She looks at the reflection in the mirror and thinks. Fox is cruel. Is mean and heartless on a mission and there’s very little in the way of regret for the things Fox does. Katsumi is feral though. Easy to anger and overprotective of her team and she does have moments, plenty of them, where she wishes she hadn’t had to do the things she’s done. She speaks slowly as she answers, “On a mission? Everything Hatake taught her to be.”

Inoichi is silent for a moment before saying calmly, “Hatake was only one of your many, many sensei. Even if he was the only one to bear that title in regards to you.”

She thinks of Crane and Bear. Two Sensei’s she’d hated as much as she’d respected. Fox owes them more than she would like to admit. Without their teachings, she thinks she would have struggled far more. She knows Inoichi disagrees with her here, but she thinks there was a certain kindness in their cruelty. That they’re dead makes that opinion meaningless. But she’s a shinobi, her opinion matters little at the end of each day. She doesn’t mention the pair of masked Sensei to Inoichi. Instead she stares at the bright red cloth of her hitai-ate, the red a last minute, thoughtless purchase because Akiko had been trailing after her and pointed it out. She’s switched the metal between the red cloth and standard navy one for nearly a year now. Never sure which she prefers. She ask him calmly, “Does that matter?”

“He helped shape the shinobi Ishihara Katsumi became. I’d say it does matter,” Inoichi gives her a small smile. 

“Can we mind walk now? I don’t like this,” She says it flatly.

Inoichi blinks slowly at her and she thinks he’d sigh if he wasn’t used to shinobi who don’t like dealing with their issues. He warns her, “You won’t like the mind walk any more than this.”

She’s well aware. Mind walks in therapy are never the ones were she’s blacked out. She’s always an active participant during the ones in therapy. It wouldn’t be beneficial otherwise. She stops looking at the mirror and the reflection in it to look at the Yamanaka, “I don’t care.”

If she’s going to be uncomfortable. She might as well get to enjoy the weird, dreamlike quality that comes with mind walks. She gets comfortable as Inoichi puts the mirror away. Braces as his hand touches her forehead and they begin. 


	18. Chapter 18

Inoichi at least manages to get her to tolerate her name for the time being. He also ups her therapy appointments to twice a week instead of weekly. Which, whatever, she can live with it. She’s spent enough time with Inoichi and Ino both to know mental health isn’t something she should be neglecting. Besides, the therapy is required so it’s not like she can get out of it. Might as well do her best with it like she always has. 

Yuma has pretty much moved into her house while he’s her personal bodyguard and there’s four heart beats surrounding her house at all times and she’s never really alone. It’s weird. She likes being alone from time to time and knowing people are watching her house would have effectively killed her sex drive if her extreme and constant stress hadn’t already. Yuma doesn’t care, thank the sage. Just shrugs and says it happens. They’re just a causal thing anyway, so she figures if he decides he needs sex, she won’t mind if he hooks up with someone else. He never shows up at her house smelling like sex and a stranger though, so she’s not sure really if he has other hook ups. 

Kakashi shows up during one of the few times Yuma isn’t around. Gone to have a meeting with Lady Hokage as far as she knows. Kakashi stands on her doorstep, slouching and tense and she has the insane urge to slam the door in his face when he greets her. She almost acts on it. She really does, but he’s pack and that alone forces her to let him in. 

It’s awkward as he stands in her living room and looks around like he’s never been inside before. She breaks the silence carefully, “Um, I have tea? If you want some?”

Kakashi doesn’t even give her a false eye smile when he shakes his head, “No, thanks, Katsumi-Chan.”

She swallows her distaste at hearing her name and nods a little, “Alright. Um, what is it?”

“How long have you known about Uchiha Obito?” He gets right to the point and his voice is oddly empty. 

“That he’s alive? That he was your teammate? Or that he’s a threat?” She’s pretty sure the answers are all the same, but she wants to know which one he means specifically. 

“All of them,” His hands twitch and she can see his jaw work under his mask. 

She shifts and glances at the seals on her walls, “Around my first assassination. That’s when I learned about Obito being alive.”

“How?” Kakashi is strung tight the way he is before a battle. The lazy slouch gone. 

“Um, It was an accident? I wasn’t supposed to know,” She’s not sure what she can say here. He knows she knew about Danzo. Not how, but that she had back before the Danzo operation had taken place. 

“How’d you find out?” He demands it again. 

“By accident,” She repeats. 

“What accident?!” His voice raises a little as he snaps the question out. 

“Learned from Danzo,” She lies, “That’s what you want, right? You want to know all about how I could know and you didn’t? Found out from fucking Danzo. He wasn’t happy about it.”

Kakashi narrows his visible eye, “Is that why he sent you on that mission? Possible recruitment to force your silence?”

She has never been more relieved. Never expected him to fill her lie out for her. Pack dynamics help, she assumes. He doesn’t expect her to lie to him now that he knows she’s known about Obito from the start. Secret is out so there’s no reason to lie to the man she views as pack leader. She inclines her head, “I assume so. Never really got to ask him about that.”

“Is that how you learned everything?” He’s pacing now. She’s never seen Kakashi pace like this before, even at the summit. It reminds her of a wild animal. 

“Didn’t meet him until the mission I ended up in Kiri during,” She admits, “He really doesn’t like me.”

“He tried to kill you,” His voice is monotone. 

“Tried to take me captive, I think,” She watches Kakashi warily as he paces her living room. The heart beats surrounding her home are beating faster than they should. A pissed off Hatake is making them nervous. Fair, it’s making her a bit nervous too. 

“Did you know he was my teammate?” He grates out. 

“Yes.” She runs her tongue over her teeth until she draws blood and lets the coppery taste keep her focused. 

“For how long?” He’s not pacing anymore. He’s right in front of her and staring down like he’s trying to see into her very soul. 

“Since I found out he was alive. Almost four years now, I guess,” She watches every movement he makes carefully. He won’t hurt her. But she’s waiting for the explosion she knows is coming. Yuma hadn’t been able to push him to the breaking point. This probably will though. 

“Four years.” His voice is flat, then he laughs, just a small, hysterical laugh for just a second, “Four fucking years.”

She’s heard that laugh from plenty of other shinobi. She’s laughed like that. Shinobi tend to stop crying after awhile. Tend to end up letting their grief out as laughter if they end up taking enough bad missions or facing enough trauma. The rules say a shinobi can’t cry. The rules don’t mention laughter and laughter that’s hard enough feels close enough like sobs. She’s never heard Kakashi laugh like that though. It’s unnerving. She stares at him and doesn’t say a word. 

“My little apprentice has known for years. And hasn’t said a word. I don’t know whether to applaud you for your ability to keep a secret or not,” Kakashi shakes his head before glaring at her, “My clearance is the same as yours. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Orders. I was under orders,” She shifts. 

“What did I teach you?” He snaps. 

“Those who break the rules are scum. Those who abandon their friends are worse than scum,” She recites dutifully before snarling, “I didn’t abandon anyone. It’s no worse than what happened when we retrieved Sasuke. You don’t have room to judge me. I followed orders. No one died for it. It didn’t ruin our team. Not telling you about Obito probably kept you from getting yourself killed.”

“That’s how you justify it?” Kakashi’s voice is deeper than normal and the growl in it makes her hair stand on end. 

“It’s not about justification. You want the truth. I gave it. I’m not going to apologize for being loyal to the village. I’m not going to apologize for hiding something I thought you would lose your shit over. I’m not sorry for those things,” She snarls right back, “I’m sorry if I hurt you. Or if this has broken our team. If you want to revoke the summoning contract, that’s your right as a Hatake.”

The idea of losing her ninken makes her chest seize up and she desperately hopes he doesn’t do that. That no matter how angry he may be with her, that he won’t take that away from her. she can’t lose her ninken. She thinks it will kill her if that happens. 

He snarls again, “Keep the fucking contract. Keep your secrets. I don’t give a damn.”

She’s never heard him curse. Especially not at her. She’s never seen him this angry. If she thought a spar would fix this she’d try for one, but she knows it’s not going to help. All she can think of is that she hopes Yuma is right, that Kakashi will understand eventually. Will forgive her. She raises her chin and meets his gaze steadily despite the bile rising in her throat at the idea of Kakashi hating her, “You have your answers.”

Kakashi steps away and she can feel the anger rolling off him, can practically taste the pain he’s exuding. He doesn’t say another word as he Shushins away. She’s left alone in her house and all she wants to do is beg him not to hate her, but she can’t do that. She can’t make him not hate her and she can’t make him forgive her. She ends up curled up on her couch with her ninken and no matter what they ask, she stays silent. She doesn’t want to speak to anyone. She just stares at her wall and pets her ninken and when Yuma comes back he takes one look at her and sits on the floor beside Naoki and leans his head against her leg. The silence is suffocating, but the idea of speaking is terrible. Kakashi will understand. He has to. He’ll understand when he’s calmer. She has to believe that. 


	19. Chapter 19

She gets no more than a day to wallow in her misery before Akiko shows up at her door with her wooden bokken. Akiko showing up means, like it or not, she has to be Katsumi. So that’s who she makes herself be. Katsumi knows she looks like shit, that her hair is falling out of its ponytail and that she looks like she hasn’t slept in years. She would appreciate if Akiko’s opening statement wasn’t a comment on that though. 

Akiko walks into her house like she owns the place and one narrow eyebrow raises on the girl’s unimpressed face, “You look bad, Sensei.”

Katsumi blinks down at the child, dumbfounded for a moment, before saying, “Nearly six months and that’s how you greet me. I’m hurt, Akiko-Chan.”

Akiko-Chan just rolls her eyes, “No, you aren’t. Nothing hurts you. You’re you.”

She wants to smile at the way Akiko thinks she’s invincible. As if the scars from years of missions and training she possesses don’t prove that she’s very much not. Katsumi just shrugs, “Fair enough, have you been doing the training I left for you?”

Akiko’s eyes gleam with pride as she nods, “Yeah, Sensei. The Katas were troublesome by myself though. Yoshino-Sama helped with the ones she recognized.”

She thinks about how sometimes, in the early hours of the morning, Yoshino would watch her go through her morning katas through the kitchen window. Of course the woman would remember the motions. Katsumi needs to visit some time, she’s missed the Nara’s now that she thinks of it, it’s an acute pang of longing when she thinks of the clan that had practically adopted her. She smiles and gestures to the door out to her training area, “Well, go warm up so you can show me.”

Yuma is having some kind of discussion with her guard detail, when she increases her hearing she can make it out, but she doesn’t care to listen. So she focuses on Akiko’s progress instead. Akiko has kept up. She can tell. The girl has managed to be exactly where Katsumi expected her to be if she applied herself to the training regimen she made for her. Her praise is genuine as Akiko demonstrates what she’s been practicing. 

Akiko runs through the Katas Katsumi had been there to teach her personally before starting the more advanced ones. There’s room for improvement, but for someone who had to learn them on her own, Akiko is doing well. Nara intelligence combined with their extreme focus when motivated, Katsumi figures. 

With a slight smile, Katsumi speaks, “That’s good, Akiko-Chan. We’ll work on your offensive Katas today. They need the most work.”

“Yes, Sensei. Is it true we’re going to war?” Akiko sounds like the very idea of that is exhausting to her. Old enough to know that war is long and a lot of work. Maybe not quite old enough to understand the full ramifications. Hard to say when the Nara intelligence is taken into account. 

“It’s looking that way. You won’t have to worry about it yet, you still have awhile before you’re a shinobi,” Katsumi is suddenly filled with dread at the idea of Akiko going to war. She’s so small. For the first time in years, she wonders at the logic of making children into soldiers. Thinks of the memorial stone and knows there’s a not so insignificant chunk of names on there that belong to children. There’s nothing she can do for that though, so she’ll just focus on preparing the girl in front of her instead. 

“Are you going to war?” Akiko’s dark eyes watch her intently as she moves into the starting stance for her Katas. 

“I’m a shinobi of this village. I’ll do what’s necessary,” She answers calmly, “Your left foot is too far back.”

Akiko adjusts to the correct position and frowns, “So you could die?”

Katsumi circles the girl, looking for any thing Akiko is doing wrong. She takes her time before answering, “I could. I could also make it back alive. It’s not something worth worrying over.”

“Why not?” Akiko’s eyebrows pull together and Katsumi can see her mind working overtime. 

“It’s out of our hands,” Katsumi reaches forward and adjust the child’s grip on the bokken, “All I can do is prepare.”

Akiko nods a little, “You won’t die, sensei. You still have to be my jounin Sensei.”

“Akiko-Chan, you know there’s no way to know if that will happen or not,” Katsumi knows her name is on the list. Knows that teams are formed based on the students first then matched up with the jounin that should be best suited to them or the skill set the students should develop. So far, her name hasn’t been pulled for genin duty. Eventually it will, but she highly doubts it’ll be for Akiko’s team. She expects the girl to end up on a capture and interrogation team like most Nara who start out on. 

“Just watch, Sensei,” Akiko says it ominously. Like she’s already planned out exactly how to make it happen. Katsumi is once again reminded that a properly motivated Nara with a plan is not an opponent anyone with half a brain wants to go up against. 

“I’ll pass on betting against you. Focus on your Katas,” Katsumi doesn’t like the idea of being responsible for three untrained genin in the field and would like to focus on this instead. No wonder Kakashi wasn’t thrilled with getting a genin team at first. Of course, he probably regrets it all over again now. One broken student, one that struggles with accepting their reality, and a liar. They must be a disappointment to him. 

Yuma appears quietly beside her and She leans against him without a thought. He’s become her rock in the past few weeks and she’s pretty sure he knows it. His voice is light and teasing when he speaks, “Shikaku-Sama says he would like to speak with you about not teaching Akiko-Chan team seven habits.”

She snorts a little, “I’ve done nothing of the sort.”

“Yet,” he teases before calling out, “Looks good, Akiko-Chan, you’ll be the second coming of the hellhound in no time.”

“The hellhound?” Akiko pauses mid-kata to look at Yuma. 

“It’s Katsumi-Sensei’s Bingo book moniker,” He grins, “Think her teeth have something to do with it.”

Akiko nods seriously, “Her teeth are cool enough for a nickname.”

Katsumi is relieved when Yuma doesn’t explain that she earned that moniker in the Suna invasion by ripping out a man’s throat with her teeth. He just laughs and agrees, “They’re definitely cool enough for it.”

“Since you stopped, start over,” Katsumi makes her voice firm even though she’s grinning at the idiocy of the conversation. 

“Yes, Katsumi-Sensei,” Akiko sounds put out but doesn’t dare argue. 

“Also, Katsumi-Sensei,” Yuma lowers his voice, “Every afternoon for now, Tsunade wants you in her office, don’t ask me why.”

Katsumi raises an eyebrow, “She knows I’m not Naruto, right? I can’t spam shadow clones forever?”

“I don’t think she cares,” Yuma sounds apologetic. 

She’s not sure why Tsunade wants her in her office daily, but she’s not thrilled by it. She has her own training to do in the mornings, she has ANBU training, she has Akiko, she’s got Inoichi’s appointments. She has a lot going on. She doesn’t want more. She’s not sure she can handle more. She sighs, “Is it rude to blow off the Hokage?”

“Even Hatake shows up sooner or later. It’s treason not to,” Yuma shakes his head, “Try not to get a desk thrown your way.”

Katsumi runs her tongue over her teeth lightly and nods, “I’ll do my best. At least you’ll get a break.”

“A break from my favorite Kunoichi. Sounds like a punishment,” Yuma pouts as he looks down at her. 

“A break from playing babysitter, I know you have a life outside of me. You shouldn’t have to spend so much time following me around,” Katsumi really does feel bad that he’s forced to do this. He has friends and a life she’s not part of and he should be able to live it. She hates that she’s screwing with that. 

“When you have some free time, I’m gonna take you to meet Misaki-Obaa-Chan. Let you meet some of my people,” Yuma sounds genuinely excited by the prospect. Like introducing her to the rest of his life is a good thing. The very prospect of it terrifies her. 

“Anything I should know before then?” Katsumi feels a little warm at the thought that he wants her to meet people he cares about, even if the idea is utterly terrifying. 

“Yeah, she’s crazy and gets confused easily, just take it in stride,” Yuma says it fondly and Katsumi wonders at the idea he has a grandmother. Not a lot of shinobi do. The short lifespans they tend to have don’t really lend well to that. 

Katsumi hums and turns her focus back to Akiko. They have a lot to cover while she’s in the village. She wasn’t lying when she told Akiko that there’s a chance she’ll die in the coming months. She needs to teach Akiko as much as she can until then. Give the girl the best foundation possible so she has the best chance of surviving into adulthood possible. She doesn’t consider the fact that she’s so focused on it because this is one thing her her life that’s well within her control. Inoichi will probably point it out for her in their next session. 


	20. Chapter 20

Sitting in a chair beside Tsunade’s desk and playing with a pen while the woman does paperwork is extremely boring. That’s what Katsumi decides an hour into the experience. She has no idea what she’s actually supposed to be doing but watching Tsunade do paperwork while Shizune runs around with the pig following orders seems to be it. Katsumi watches the blonde woman boredly and waits for something to happen. 

“Ishihara, there’s two genin I’m considering for a field promotion. I’m going to describe their cases to you and you’re going to give me your opinion, got it?” Tsunade breaks the silence finally. 

“Yes, Lady Hokage,” She answers automatically, at least it’s something to do. 

“The first has been a genin for a year and failed two Chuunin exams, but one their last mission, it went wrong, with both their genin teammates dying and their jounin Sensei being taken hostage. The genin in question managed to complete the mission, but without helping their jounin escape captivity. The jounin managed to extract themselves after two days. The bodies of the teammates were not recovered. Thoughts?”

“Why weren’t the bodies recovered?” Is her first question. 

“The Jounin had the body scrolls,” Tsunade answers calmly. 

“How did this genin survive without being captured?” Katsumi thinks that doesn’t make sense. If two of three genin died and the jounin taken hostage, the idea of the third genin not only surviving but avoiding capture and completing the mission is suspicious. 

“The jounin ordered a retreat,” Tsunade offers in the same calm tone. 

“So the student was meant to come back to the village, call for back up?” Katsumi is almost positive that’s what the correct protocol is supposed to be when something like this goes so wrong. Genin aren’t expected to be able to complete missions above D-rank without their Sensei or a Chuunin Taichou, much less alone. 

“That’s standard protocol when a mission location is less than three days from the village, sending one of the messenger birds is standard protocol for outside of that distance,” Tsunade clarifies, her brown eyes watching her carefully. 

“So this student chose to complete a mission, without following protocol with three quarters of their team dead or captive?” She checks. 

“Yes, the mission was completed to an acceptable standard,” Tsunade inclines her head. 

She shakes her head, “If I was deciding, I wouldn’t promote them. While completing the mission under those circumstances is commendable for a genin, it also displays a lack of procedural understanding and a further lack of concern for the well-being of the living comrades. Chuunin lead missions. Shinobi have to be able to trust their Taichou’s aren’t going to abandon them.”

Tsunade’s lips twitch up a little at the corners, “Not bad, Ishihara. The second has been a genin for two years, they have a well rounded skill set, but have failed the Chuunin exams three times. The mission that’s put them up for a field promotion is as follows, their team was in charge of delivering an item to the client. Bandits stole the item from them and gravely injured one of their teammates. The genin in question managed to keep their comrade alive long enough to get them to help while the remaining members of the team went to retrieve the item. The mission was completed and all members of the team survived. Without the genin’s actions, their teammate’s shinobi career would have come to a premature end at best.”

Katsumi tilts her head and shrugs, “They did what any shinobi should do for their comrades. I’m not sure it makes them suited to a leadership role, but I’d rather follow someone I know isn’t going to leave me for dead.”

“So what would you do with them?” Tsunade presses. 

“I had a six month probation when I got promoted to Chuunin. I say do that and if they can’t hack it, they can’t hack it,” Katsumi thinks that’s a fair answer for that one. 

Tsunade inclines her head, “A fair idea.”

Katsumi raises an eyebrow, “Lady Tsunade, with all due respect, why am I here?”

“Naruto is learning diplomacy right now, I think you should know how the rest of the work that goes into running a hidden village is. It also has the added benefit of our village seeing you as someone I trust wholeheartedly combined with keeping you in one of the safest places in the village,” Tsunade explains brusquely as she signs a paper before moving it to one pile and pulling another one out. 

“I see,” Katsumi says slowly as she processes that, “Shouldn’t Naruto be the one learning how to run a village?”

“When he’s done learning diplomacy, maybe. I haven’t chosen a successor yet, so nothing is set in stone,” Tsunade waves her hand carelessly as she explains. 

“Alright,” Katsumi isn’t sure she likes the line of thought this is taking her down. 

“Try not to worry about it too much, think of it like a break for now,” Tsunade advises, “Inoichi is concerned you’re overworking yourself anyway. You’re being pulled from ANBU for now. No more Fox until things quiet down. Gives you some time to decompress and if you want the mask back after everything is said and done, it’s yours.”

“You’re removing me from ANBU entirely?” Katsumi is dumbfounded. She was supposed to be moved to part time. 

“Not removed. No one is ever really removed from ANBU, barring medical, psychological reasons or retirement. For now, however, you’re going to take a break from it. Keeping you in the shadows does you no favors now that your position in ANBU has been leaked,” Tsunade corrects, “Fox is still your mask, for now though, you’re going to spend some time in the light.”

She’s not pleased by that, she’s Hyena’s partner. Katsumi frowns, “What about Hyena?”

“He didn’t have a partner in ANBU before you, he’ll be fine for a few months while you’re occupied elsewhere,” Tsunade dismisses. 

“Yes, Lady Tsunade,” Katsumi sighs sullenly. Katsumi knows better than to argue with the often short tempered Hokage. 

“I’m going to be honest with you, placing you in ANBU was never meant to become permanent, if you remember. I meant to pull you entirely as soon a possible. We weren’t expecting you to do so well there however,” Tsunade continues. 

“So now you’re pulling me?” Katsumi doesn’t like it. 

“Temporarily. Again, consider it a vacation if it helps,” Tsunade says firmly. 

“Understood,” Katsumi doesn’t question further. The hokage won’t rescind her decision now. 

“Good. Tell me, what’s something you think could be improved in our village?” Lady Hokage asks it as she returns to what she’s doing. 

“With our shinobi or the village as a whole?” Katsumi’s never really given it a lot of thought. Things are just the way they are and well outside her ability to change them. 

“Either,” Tsunade sounds like she’s not really paying attention as she responds, but Katsumi knows that’s bullshit. The Nara’s and Kakashi taught her that. Shinobi are always hyperaware of what’s going on around them, especially when they look like they aren’t. 

She thinks of Akiko and how small she is and how young so many of their shinobi actually are and answers honestly, “The academy and Genin system. I’d raise the age before someone can be a shinobi or have them spend longer as genin. More time to develop their chakra reserves, more time to build their skills before being sent out on the more difficult missions or at least before they’re qualified for promotion to Chuunin.”

“Why?” Tsunade prompts. 

“Average life span of shinobi is thirty-five. How many of the names on the memorial stone belong to kids who haven’t even made it through puberty yet?” Katsumi answers, “How many of the most traumatized shinobi were promoted past genin before they were fourteen? A lot I’d bet. Shinobi are adults, that’s how we treat them, even before their chakra coils and reserves are done developing.”

“It’s always been done this way, though we’ve done away with early graduations entirely,” Tsunade points out. 

Katsumi shrugs, “It could be done better. If we give them time to grow, they’re more likely to survive. Less time and money spent on healing them and the longer they’ll be able to stay in the field. I’d improve childcare too. Orphanages aren’t good, Naruto got kicked out of his and Tenten got out the very second she could afford to. On top of that, My Otou-san had to leave me with random shinobi growing up when he went on missions and while that was a good experience for me, it’s not feasible for everyone. If we had better childcare, Kunoichi and single parents are more likely to stay in the field longer instead of retire to stay home with the kids at all times.”

“Not the improvements I would have expected you to think of, Ishihara,” Tsunade glances at her, “What else would you improve?”

Katsumi fiddles with her pen and looks out the window, “Chakra control exercises like water walking, tree climbing, those could be taught in the academy. Same with learning chakra natures, they don’t need a high level of training to learn, much less teach, they’re fundamentals that every shinobi needs to be able to do. Teaching those in the last year of the academy instead of leaving it to jounin to teach would mean the jounin would be able to spend more time teaching their genin more advanced techniques and tailor the training to them faster and with a clearer view of what to teach.”

“That would take time, the curriculum would have to be restructured for it. What would you replace with it?” Tsunade sounds amused almost. 

“We’re in the academy for six years. The first three years are pretty much all theory and bookwork with some physical conditioning, aside from a few extremely basic chakra control exercises like sticking a leaf to your forehead. We don’t need to replace anything, just rearrange things, I think, of course we’d have to talk with the academy instructors about it first,” She shrugs, “See how to make it work best with the civilian classes considering for those first three years they tend to be playing catch up to the clan and shinobi classes while those classes have to stagnate until then.”

“You’d have to convince not only the clan heads, but also department heads for want of those changes to happen. And you’d have to rearrange budgets for those,” Tsunade points out. 

“They’re just ideas, rough ideas at that. Convincing the Clans is easy enough if we can convince them there’s more benefits in making the changes than not. I think the fact it breaks tradition in their eyes would be the biggest issue,” Katsumi considers, “As for budgets, I’ll admit I don’t know enough about the financials to be able to give an opinion on that.”

Tsunade hums a little, “What’s your opinion on the ANBU?”

“Depends on what about it you’re referring to,” Katsumi says simply. She’s been in ANBU long enough to know there’s a lot of moving parts in it and trying to form a single opinion on the division as a whole is impossible unless the opinion is that it’s necessary. 

“First thing that comes to mind,” Tsunade prompts. 

“Field medics. We only have two. we have medics that never go in the field, but we need more field medics, Rat would like to retire eventually, I’m pretty sure. Then we’ll have one and they almost died recently,” Katsumi is almost positive all of ANBU would be thrilled if their field medic number went up. 

“Field medics are hard to come by. Even harder to find at the caliber of Shinobi needed for that,” Tsunade counters. 

“Improved field medicine training then, I’ve had comrades die because they couldn’t get treatment soon enough and no one on the team was equipped to deal with their injuries,” Katsumi thinks of Snake, who died so long ago in Dog’s arms arms they tried to get her back to the village. Everyone had the most basic field medical knowledge but no one could handle her injuries.

“Most don’t have the chakra control to use iryoninjutsu,” Tsunade points out. 

“We can learn to field dress injuries better though, there has to be a way for those of us who can’t use iryoninjutsu to keep our comrades from dying,” Katsumi argues back. They’re going to war soon and Katsumi’s well aware people aren’t going to come home from it and she’s already dreading it. 

“And how would you accomplish that?” Tsunade tilts her head, “I’ve been pushing for having a medic on every mission above C-rank for years and it hasn’t happened.”

“Have every genin team do a rotation through the hospital, make sure they know how to treat injuries,” Katsumi throws out, “They don’t need to be medics, but a few hours a week learning to keep their comrades alive would be beneficial.”

“That costs money,” Tsunade sounds like she’s saying something she’s heard for years and hates it.

“Everything costs money. But the less shinobi dying in the field, the more missions we can take to make up for it,” Katsumi knows for a fact when they’re short on shinobi they have to turn missions away or overwork the remaining shinobi. She’s seen that firsthand. She knows she’s pulling a lot of her solutions out of her ass, but the problems are there and Tsunade asked so she’s not going to dance around the subject. 

Tsunade hums and glances at the clock, “Interesting. Same time tomorrow, Ishihara. Don’t be late.”

She blinks at the woman, “Lady Hokage?”

“You’re free to go. If you have time in the morning, I want you to go to the library, look up a few of the jounin level books discussing clan politics and how different departments overlap and interact with each other and the roles clans play in the running of the village. Consider that your homework for the next few weeks,” Tsunade says as if that’s a totally normal order, “Don’t be late tomorrow.”

Katsumi sets her pen down and tries not to look bewildered as she stands and bows, “Yes, Lady Hokage.”

Shushining out of the building, Katsumi barely registers the heart beats of her guards appearing around her. She’s too busy trying to process the past few hours. She hopes like hell Tsunade is just bored. She really doesn’t like the theory she’s developing on why the woman is having her hang around her office and debate her. She would really rather not think about it. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all so very much for reading! All comments and reviews are welcome!


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